Romania earthquake felt across eastern Europe
by AFP Staff Writers
Bucharest (AFP) Feb 14, 2023

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck in Romania on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey, and was felt in neighbouring nations like Bulgaria and Serbia.

Local reports and social media posts indicated minor damage to buildings and cars in Romania, and showed people hastily exiting buildings. No injuries or significant losses were reported.

The tremor hit at 3:16 pm (1316 GMT) at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) in Romania's southwestern county of Gorj, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said on its website.

On Monday, the same area of Romania was hit by an earthquake of a slightly lower magnitude, without causing any damage or injuries.

The tremors are unrelated to the deadly quake that hit Turkey and Syria last week, Romania's National Earth Physics Institute (INFP) said on Tuesday, but the repeated jolts have raised concerns among some residents.

Romania sits on several seismic faults and experts have pointed out the country's "high seismic potential".

On March 4, 1977, an earthquake caused 1,570 deaths and more than 11,000 injuries, most of them in Bucharest, located on the Vrancea fault.

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