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Albania earthquake: rescuers search rubble after most powerful tremor in decades Albania earthquake: at least six dead and hundreds injured
(about 2 hours later)
Magnitude 6.4 quake is the second to hit the impoverished nation in months Magnitude 6.4 quake struck at shallow depth, causing buildings to collapse in Tirana and nearby towns
The strongest earthquake to hit Albania in decades rocked the capital of Tirana early on Tuesday, sending panicked residents into the streets and causing at least one building to collapse in the nearby port town of Durres. At least six people have died and 300 people have been injured after the most powerful earthquake to hit Albania in decades rocked the capital, Tirana, and surrounding region, causing several buildings to collapse and burying residents in the rubble.
The 6.4-magnitude quake struck shortly before 4am local time, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, the second powerful tremor to hit the region in two months. It was centred 10km (six miles) north-west of Shijak, between Durres and the capital, at a depth of just 10km, the USGS said. The 6.4-magnitude quake struck shortly before 4am local time (0300 GMT) on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, the second powerful tremor to hit the region in two months. It was centred 19 miles west of Tirana, at a shallow depth of six miles. Scores of aftershocks included three with preliminary magnitudes of between 5.1 and 5.4.
Unverified video footage posted on social media showed what appeared to be a collapsed building in Durres, 40km west of Tirana, on the Adriatic coast. Other footage showed buildings with large cracks and fallen masonry, including one apartment with most of a bedroom wall missing. Albanian president Ilir Meta said the situation in the town of Thumane, closest to the epicentre, was very dramatic. “All efforts are being made to take the people out of the ruins,” he said, and called on the cabinet to request international assistance.
Firefighters and the military were helping residents caught under the rubble in Durres and the nearby village of Thumane, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said. The defence ministry said at least six people had died, including two women who were found in the rubble of an apartment building in the northern village of Thumane, and a man who died in the town of Kurbin after jumping out of a building. Three people died in in the western port city of Durres, 20 miles from Tirana, including two whose bodies were taken out of a collapsed building.
Two government spokesmen said the worst damage to buildings was in Durres and a few people had been taken to hospital in Tirana. Asked about loss of life, an interior ministry spokesman said: “I am told there is not any.” Emergency workers told local media one of those killed in Durres was an elderly woman who had managed to save her grandson by shielding him with her body.
One witness described residents fleeing apartment buildings in Tirana, some carrying babies. Power was down in several neighbourhoods. The health minister, Ogerta Manastirliu, said 300 injured people had been treated in Durres, Tirana and Thumane, with more arriving in hospitals.
Located between Greece and Macedonia, Albania experiences regular seismic activity. All government agencies are on alert and “intensively working to save lives at the fatal spots in Durres and Thumane,” Prime Minister Edi Rama said. “It is a dramatic moment where we should preserve calm, stay alongside each other to cope with this shock,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 shook the country on 21 September, damaging about 500 houses and destroying others. The defence ministry had said that was the most powerful quake in Albania in the last 30 years. Unverified video footage posted on social media showed what appeared to be a collapsed building in Durres. Other footage showed buildings with large cracks and fallen masonry, including one apartment with most of a bedroom wall missing.
The Balkan nation is the poorest country in Europe, with an average income of less than a third of the European Union average, according to Eurostat data. “Firefighters and army staff are helping residents (caught) under the rubble,” in Durres and the nearby village of Thumane, a defence ministry spokeswoman told reporters.
An unidentified man, with a wound dressing on his right cheek, told News24 TV his daughter and niece were among those trapped in a collapsed apartment building in Durres.
“I talked with my daughter and niece on the phone. They said they are well and are waiting for the rescue. Could not talk to my wife. There are other families, but I could not talk to them,” the man said.
Two government spokesmen told Reuters the greatest damage to buildings was in Durres and a few people had been taken to hospital in Tirana.
A witness described residents fleeing apartment buildings in Tirana, some carrying babies. Power was down in several neighbourhoods.
Three hours after the main tremor, a strong aftershock rocked the city, which is known for its colourful mix of architectural styles from its Ottoman, Fascist and Soviet past.
Several smaller tremors were recorded in the hour before the main quake, which was also felt across the Balkans and in the southern Italian region of Puglia.
“We were awake because of the previous quakes, but the last one shook us around. Everything at home kept falling down,” Refik, a Tirana resident, told Reuters of what happened in his sixth-floor apartment.
Located along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, between Greece and Macedonia, Albania experiences regular seismic activity. A 5.6-earthquake shook the country on 21 September, damaging about 500 houses and destroying some. The defence ministry said it was the most powerful quake in Albania in the last 30 years.
The images of collapsed or semi-collapsed buildings in urban areas suggested Tuesday’s quake was more powerful than one in 1979 that razed a neighbourhood of the northern town of Shkoder, bordering Montenegro. Neither of those two earlier earthquakes caused any fatalities.
The Balkan country is the poorest in Europe, with an average income of less than a third of the European Union average, according to Eurostat data.