5.2-magnitude quake hits Bejaia, Algeria – Survey agency

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 jolted 29 km northeast of Bejaia, Algeria at 0017 GMT on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter near Béjaïa, Algeria, early morning on Thursday at 1:04 am local time.

Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface.

The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.

A second report was later issued by the United States Geological Survey, which listed it as a magnitude 6.0 earthquake.

Other agencies reporting the same quake include Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) at magnitude 6.2, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.7, and Spain’s Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) at magnitude 5.8.

Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage.
Moderate shaking probably occurred in Béjaïa (pop. 164,100) located 21 km from the epicenter.

In El-Kseur (pop. 26,100) located 40 km from the epicenter, Colmar (pop. 25,800) 40 km away, Barbacha (pop. 32,000) 44 km away, el hed (pop. 31,900) 48 km away, Akbou (pop. 66,700) 78 km away, Setif (pop. 288,500) 83 km away, and El Eulma (pop. 128,400) 96 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.

VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake becomes available.

Over the past year, Algeria experienced earthquakes of magnitudes 4.0 and up every few months.