An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale has hit central Italy where a devastating tremor struck earlier this week killing at least 207 people.
At least one person has been killed in the latest earthquake, which happened just after 6:45pm (Irish time) this evening.
Aftershocks have continued to hamper the race to dig possible survivors out of the debris from the 6.2 quake in the early hours of Monday morning.
Rescuers worked under floodlights through the night and thousands of people whose homes were wrecked sheltered in tents and cars.
'The hopes of finding anyone under the rubble now is very small,' said a civil protection agency official in L'Aquila.
However, a 98-year-old woman was pulled out alive from rubble this morning after being trapped for 30 hours.
Maria D'Antuono told the ANSA news agency she whiled away the time by 'doing crochet'.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said 207 people were now confirmed as dead in the worst earthquake to strike Italy in 30 years.
Of some 1,500 people injured, about 100 were in serious condition.
'We advise people not to go back into their homes,' Berlusconi told a news conference in L'Aquila, adding that rescue efforts to find people still alive will go on for at least two more days.
The aftershock, which hit at about at 11.26am (10.26am Irish time) and registered 4.7 on the Richter Scale, was felt as far away as Rome, where furniture swayed on the upper floors of buildings.
Officials have revised the estimated number of homeless to 17,000 from a previous 50,000 and the number of those listed as missing was under 50.
But officials in the region 100km northeast of Rome said some people who lived there were undocumented immigrants working in agriculture and they would be difficult to account for.
A camp was set up on a sports field outside L'Aquila but there were not enough tents.
Most people spent the night in their cars as temperatures in the mountainous, windy area hovered near freezing.
Mr Berlusconi, who has declared a national emergency, visited L'Aquila again to survey the damage and promised residents the government will help them rebuild their homes.
Workers and volunteers working by the glare of floodlight and using mechanical diggers and their bare hands searched through the night for survivors. Sniffer dogs aided the search.
The quake struck shortly after 3.30am. (2.30am Irish time) yesterday, catching residents in their sleep and flattening houses, centuries-old churches and other buildings in 26 cities and towns.
'It is a serious disaster. Now we must rebuild and that will require huge sums of money,' said Mr Berlusconi.
He has pledged to seek EU disaster funds and ordered 1,000 troops to the area on Tuesday.
In Onna, home to some 250 residents, at least 38 people died. Tearful relatives gathered while wooden coffins were placed on communal ground.
