Europe News Desk!!! An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale hit Gorj County in southwestern Romania on Tuesday afternoon, the National Institute for Earth Physics (NIEP) reported. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit Romania since October 28, 2018, when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the country in 2018, Xinhua news agency reported. The epicenter was at a depth of 40 km in almost the same mountainous area where a magnitude 5.2 earthquake had struck a day earlier. The earthquake was clearly felt in the country’s capital, Bucharest, which is located 300 km southeast of the epicenter. There were no reports of casualties, but the earthquake caused physical damage in areas near the epicenter—a car was struck by falling debris.
In recent days, Romania has recorded a series of earthquakes—six on Monday and five on Tuesday. Romania is in one of the most active seismic regions in Europe. The country has recorded several intermediate-depth (70–200 km) earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 to 7.8. In March 1977, a major earthquake of magnitude 7.2 killed over 1,000 people and damaged thousands of buildings in the country. Although Romania is not on the same tectonic plate with Turkey, five earthquakes—the strongest measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale—also occurred in Romania when Turkey and Syria experienced a major earthquake on the morning of 6 February.
–IANS
KC/ANM
World News Desk!!!