SKOPJE, Macedonia – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 struck on the outskirts of Macedonia’s capital on Sunday, causing minor damage to buildings but no injuries, authorities said.
The quake occurred just after 3 p.m. (1300 GMT; 9 a.m. EDT), seismologist Dragana Cernih from the national seismological observatory told The Associated Press.
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She said she received reports of cracks in the walls of buildings or collapsed chimneys, as well as damage to roofs in villages around Skopje. But she said there was no indication of people being injured.
The U.S. Geological Survey also gave the quake a preliminary magnitude of 5.3, with its epicenter about four kilometres 4 kilometres (2 1/2 miles) east-northeast of Skopje, at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles). The Potsdam-based German Research Centre for Geosciences, or GFZ, gave a magnitude of 5. Earthquake experts often give different estimates of magnitude.
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Cernih said at least four strong aftershocks followed the big quake, while a smaller quake was recorded earlier in the day.
A large earthquake in 1963 levelled much of Skopje, killing more than 1,000 people.
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