Small quake off Cyprus

A MODERATE earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale hit the region between Cyprus, Lebanon and south eastern Turkey in the early hours of yesterday, authorities said.

“The earthquake bordered on weak to moderately strong,” according to an official at the seismology centre. “It was not felt in Cyprus,” he added.
The earthquake was felt on the south eastern Turkish coast, the Anatolia News Agency said, quoting the Kandilli Observatory. There were no reports of damage or injuries.

The report said the quake was centred some 100km off the Turkish coastal city of Hatay. It was also felt in the eastern Turkish port city of Iskenderun.

The Kandilli Observatory stated that the quake also jolted the region east of the ‘TRNC’ and Syria.

In some areas of Turkey, people had been camping out since before Wednesday’s solar eclipse, fearing that an earthquake would hit. A huge quake hit regions of Turkey in 1999 several days after a solar eclipse. More than 20,000 people died.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.