Kingsley Kobo, AfricaNews reporter in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
General panic struck across Algeria on Monday afternoon following reports of an earthquake strike by the country's major news media, AFP said. An earthquake measuring 4.8 on the open-ended Richter scale hit the Ain Defla region, about 150 kilometres (93 miles) west of Algiers, seismologists said.
The epicentre was located about 11 kilometres (seven miles) northeast of the town of El Abadia in the region, the Algerian geological service CRAAG told reporters in Algiers Monday evening.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or property damage, according to state television, ENTV, but rescue workers were shown making searches.
Algeria has known several earthquake strikes in the past notably a 7.7 magnitude that hit the city of El Asnam in 1980, killing 5000 people; and a 2003 6.8 magnitude that rocked northern Algeria and caused 2,266 fatalities.
General panic struck across Algeria on Monday afternoon following reports of an earthquake strike by the country's major news media, AFP said. An earthquake measuring 4.8 on the open-ended Richter scale hit the Ain Defla region, about 150 kilometres (93 miles) west of Algiers, seismologists said.
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