site.btaMagnitude 4.6 Earthquake Hits Near Plovdiv, Nobody Is Hurt

Sofia, February 22 (BTA) - An earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale hit the southern Bulgarian Plovdiv area in the night between Wednesday and Thursday, said the Institute for Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. It was epicentred near the towns of Kroumovo and Sadovo.

The quake caused no harm to people or damage to property.

The tremors were felt the most in Plovdiv, Purvomai and Pazardjik. In the Sofia area, they measured 2-3 on the Richter scale.

Some 20 aftershocks were counted in the following hours.

The area where the quake was epicentred is one of the most seismic in Bulgaria, said Prof. Emil Botev of the Institute for Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography.

He explained that quakes of this magnitude tend to occur in the area every ten years or so, which is good because the tectonic tensions are discharged, minimizing the risk of a destructive quake like a magnitude 7 one which hit here in 1928.