Beirut - An earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter Scale
struck southern Lebanon Friday afternoon, causing panic among the
residents, Lebanese police said.
The quake, which was felt at around 1200 GMT, was also detected in
northern Israel.
Rashid Jumaa of Lebanon's Geophysical Institute, told the German
News Agency dpa that the quake was felt in areas east of the southern
port city of Tyre and the village of Srifa.
'We felt the earth moving under our feet and we all rushed outside
the house into the street,' said a resident of Tyre.
The tremors sparked panic among the population in southern Lebanon
and several families evacuated their homes in the village of Srifa,
Lebanese radio stations reported.
Ali Eid, head of the Srifa municipality, said 'the town's
residents went out to the street leaving their homes for fear of
aftershocks.'
There were no reports of injuries.
Jumaa said that no one can predict a larger earthquake, but
stressed that the geophysicists were monitoring the situation.
The Geophysical Institute of Israel (GII) also confirmed that an
earthquake had taken place.
According to radio reports the Israeli Health Ministry director-
general had recently sent letters to medical facilities in northern
Israel warning them that Geophysical Institute believes a large quake
may hit the area soon.
A moderate quake was felt across Israel and Lebanon about a year
ago, measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was recorded
in Lebanon.
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