BUCHAREST, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale struck Gorj County in southwestern Romania Monday afternoon, the National Institute for Earth Physics (NIEP) said.
It was the strongest earthquake to hit the country this year and one of the few quakes stronger than magnitude 5 in the past five years.
The epicenter of the quake was at a depth of 15 km in the mountainous area of the county, a little over 300 km northwest of Bucharest, the capital.
The quake was followed by a magnitude 3 aftershock at the same depth. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Romania constitutes one of the most active seismic zones in Europe. The country has registered several intermediate-depth (70-200-km) earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 to 7.8. In March 1977, a major 7.2 magnitude quake killed over 1,000 people and damaged thousands of buildings in the country.
Although Romania is not on the same tectonicplate with Türkiye, five earthquakes -- the strongest measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale -- also occurred in Romania when Türkiye and Syria experienced a major earthquake in the early morning of Feb. 6. ■
