A magnitude 4.7 earthquake near Shkodra, northern Albania, was reported on Wednesday by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide, said volcanodiscovery.com. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter early afternoon on Wednesday, September 15th, 2021, at 2:26 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
The monitoring service identified a second report from the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.1. A third agency, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), reported the same quake at magnitude 4.7.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Koplik (pop. 4,100) located 7 km from the epicenter, Podgorica (pop. 236,900) 24 km away in Montenegro, and Shkodra (pop. 88,200) 24 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Burrel (pop. 15,400) located 88 km from the epicenter, Kruja (pop. 21,300) 90 km away, and Albanian Capital Tirana (pop. 374,800) 110 km away.
Earlier it was reported that light tremors shook those areas on Wednesday morning. / Argumentum.al
