A 5.6 magnitude earthquake rattled the Algerian capital and suburban regions on Friday prompting panicked residents to flee their homes, according to the Algerian Center for Astrophysics and Geophysics.
Epicenter of the quake that took place at 5:14 a.m. (local time) was 19 kilometers off the coast of Bologhnine, a suburban district north of Algiers. Aftershocks measuring 4.6 magnitude hit the capital, panicking residents, some of whom fled their homes, although no considerable damage was reported.
Tremors were also felt at in Tizi-Ouzou, Al-Buwaira and Boumerdes. This region had witnessed a deadly quake that claimed 3,000 lives in 2003.
Meanwhile, Minister of Interior and Local Governments Tayeb Belaiz said in a statement to the official news agency that no damage or casualties have been reported in the regions hit by the tremors.
He declared a contingency commission was formed to follow up on the situation and that civil defense teams were scouring the areas where the tremors were reported.
The earthquake is part of regular seismological activity in the Mediterranean, said Dr. Loth Bounatiro, the chief research scientist at the astronomy laboratory and astrophysics department at Algeria's Centre for Research in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Geophysics, in remarks to KUNA.