5.7 magnitude earthquake hits Romania

Buchares, Feb 14 An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale struck Gorj County in southwestern Romania on Tuesday afternoon, the National Institute for Earth Physics (NIEP) said.

It was the strongest earthquake to hit Romania since October 28, 2018, when the country was rattled by a 5.8 magnitude tremor, Xinhua news agency reported.

The epicentre of the quake was at a depth of 40 km in almost the same mountainous area as that of the magnitude 5.2 quake one day earlier.

The quake was clearly felt in Bucharest, the country's capital, which lies over 300 km southeast of the epicentre. There were no immediate reports of casualties, but the quake caused material damage in areas near the epicentre at least one car was hit by debris falling from the eaves.

In recent days, Romania has registered a series of quakes six on Monday and five on Tuesday.

Romania constitutes one of the most active seismic zones in Europe. The country has registered several intermediate-depth (70-200-km) earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 to 7.8. In March 1977, a major 7.2 magnitude quake killed over 1,000 people and damaged thousands of buildings in the country.

Although Romania is not on the same tectonic plate with Türkiye, five earthquakes the strongest measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale also occurred in Romania when Turkey and Syria experienced a major earthquake in the early morning of February 6.