Naharnet

Earthquake Felt in Several Lebanese Regions

Residents of several Lebanese regions felt an earthquake on Sunday afternoon.

The tremor was felt in the capital Beirut, the Mount Lebanon areas of Keserwan and Jbeil, and the northern regions of Tripoli and Batroun, according to state-run National News Agency.

"At 3:23 PM, residents of coastal areas felt a 4.2-magnitude earthquake whose epicenter lies five kilometers north of Jbeil on the Lebanese coast," state-run Bhannes National Center for Geophysical Research said.

Media outlets quoted center officials as saying that the tremor occurred at a depth of 24 kilometers.

In December, 2013, an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.1 was felt in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. The NCGR said at the time that the quake struck between Beirut and the Keserwan town of Ajaltoun.

According to the center, over 600 earthquakes with magnitudes below 3 degrees hit Lebanon each year.

More than 20 earthquakes were reported between the regions of Bikfaya and Aley on March 15, 2012.

In 1956, a 6 degrees on the Richter scale earthquake struck Lebanon, killing 136 people and destroying 6,000 houses.

Y.R.


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