In May 2012, two major earthquakes struck Northern Italy, causing 27 deaths and widespread damage. The events are known in Italy as 2012 Emilia earthquakes, because they mainly affected the Emilia region. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the same area nine days later, on 29 May, causing an additional twenty deaths and widespread damage, particularly to buildings already weakened by the 20 May earthquake. The epicentre was in Medolla: the quake itself occurred at a depth of about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)