Rome, Nov 3 (IANS): An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter Scale stuck Italy on Thursday in the same region, affected by the recent strong quakes, the US Geological Survey said.

The USGS said the temblor was very shallow, only 10 km (6.2 miles) deep, and was centred 51.5 km (32 miles) southeast of Perugia town in Italy, The Guardian reported.

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake is considered moderate and is capable of causing considerable damage. The shallow depth would have intensified the shaking at the surface.

Two earthquakes measuring 5.5 and 6.1 hit the area a week ago, followed by a 6.6 magnitude quake on Sunday, the biggest temblor to strike Italy for 36 years.

Sunday's earthquake reduced historic towns and villages in the Apennine mountains to rubble on Sunday, displacing 15,000 people.

Then the worst-affected areas were Umbria, Marche, and parts of rural Lazio -- where the town of Amatrice was levelled by an earthquake in August, killing 300.