Algeria rocked by new earthquake

ANOTHER earthquake struck Algeria yesterday, causing some injury and damage and terrifying thousands on the Mediterranean coast already too scared to live at home after a devastating quake last week.

“A violent tremor struck Algeria at 3:15am measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale,” said Mohamed Hamadache, a researcher at Algeria’s Geophysical, Astronomical and Astrophysics Research Centre.

The quake, the fourth in just over a week, shook the capital Algiers and towns to the east. The official toll from last week’s quake is 2,251 dead and 10,243 injured, but hundreds are still unaccounted for.

Tens of thousands are now sleeping outdoors. Algerian authorities have made available more than 17,000 tents to accommodate 150,000 people for several months, many of whom were made homeless by the May 21 quake.

The epicentre of yesterday’s quake, like the previous ones, was near the town of Zemmouri.

Some injuries were reported in the capital and the eastern province of Boumerdes.