Rome, Safar 17, 1438, November 17, 2016, SPA -- Italy will request assistance from the European Union Solidarity Fund to help it recover from this year's earthquakes, with the bill from an August quake alone hitting more than 7 billion euros (7.5 billion dollars), according to its Civil Protection department. The magnitude-6 earthquake on August 24 left nearly 300 dead, according to dpa. A subsequent magnitude-6.5 earthquake on October 30 killed no one, but caused widespread damage. Damages from the October quake and its aftershocks have not been figured into the aid request. The damage from both incidents left many central Italian towns in ruins. --SPA 02:55 LOCAL TIME 23:55 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w271121