Albania’s earthquake: What we know so far

A powerful earthquake in Albania on Tuesday toppled hundreds of buildings, trapping scores of people in the rubble and leaving at least 23 people dead.

The epicentre of the 6.4 magnitude quake was just 19 miles from the capital, Tirana, where rescue workers continued to search for survivors as night fell.

George-Ilias Belidis, a resident of Tirana, a city of 900,000, was sleeping in his apartment when the powerful, seemingly interminable tremor jolted him awake. He experienced the quake “in all its rage” — and thought his end had come, he said.

“Everything was moving in an unbelievable rhythm,” Belidis, a 24-year-old Greek citizen, said by telephone a few hours later. “I could hear the walls cracking, dishes and glass breaking.”

With more than 650 people already treated at hospitals, according to state media, authorities were bracing the public for more bad news in the days ahead.

Damanified rest at a makeshift camp in Durres, after an earthquake shook Albania, Nov 26, 2019. REUTERS

Prime Minister Edi Rama said rescuers would “continue to search patiently and thoroughly to the end.”

“We have victims,” he said. “We are working to do everything possible in the affected areas.”

How are rescue efforts going?

Albania, the poorest country in Europe, issued an urgent plea for help from other nations as it deployed soldiers and emergency workers to the hardest-hit areas, and neighbouring countries were sending in teams.

But in some places, at least at first, citizens were on their own, and there were desperate scenes of people pulling away rubble by hand as they searched for friends and loved ones.

At least 45 people were pulled out of the wreckage Tuesday.

Durres, a city on the coast, and Thumane, an inland town to the northwest, suffered some of the most extensive damage. Rescuers there were desperately trying to reach people still trapped in the rubble, according local media reports.

One television station, N24, interviewed a man who said his daughter and niece were among those trapped.

“I talked with my daughter and niece on the phone,” he said. “They said they are well and waiting for the rescue. Could not talk to my wife. There are other families, but I could not talk to them.”

A woman rests next to a child at a makeshift camp for damnified in Durres, after an earthquake shook Albania, Nov 26, 2019. REUTERS

The seven-story Vila Palma hotel also collapsed, crushing cars parked underneath, but there was no immediate word on casualties.

What is the earthquake history in the region?

The Balkans have a long history of deadly earthquakes, but this was the most powerful to strike the region since 1979, when a 6.9 magnitude quake killed 136 people and injured more than 1,000.

The brunt of that earthquake was felt in Montenegro, a neighbour of Albania. It destroyed thousands of buildings and authorities were forced to raze about 450 villages.

In 1963, the Macedonian capital of Skopje was devastated by a 6.1 magnitude quake. More than 1,000 people were killed and 200,000 made homeless.

On Tuesday, as many as 1.2 million people may have faced “strong” and “very strong” shaking, according to the US Geological Survey.

There have been numerous aftershocks, including a 5.4 magnitude quake near the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There were no immediate reports of damage from that quake.

© 2019 New York Times News Service