Sciency Thoughts: Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake beneath the Gulf of Béjaïa, on the north coast of Algeria.

Thursday 18 March 2021

Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake beneath the Gulf of Béjaïa, on the north coast of Algeria.

The Centre Seismologique Euro-Méditeranéen recorded a Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, beneath the Gulf of Béjaïa, 20 km to the north of the city of Bejaïa in Bejaïa Province on the north coast of Algeria, slightly after 5.05 am local time (slightly after 4.05 am GMT) on Thursday 18 March 2021. There are no reports of any serious damage or casualties associated with this event, but several buildings in Bejaïa, and a number of minor injuries were recorded, including one person who suffered several fractures after jumping from a first floor window.

Damage to a building in Bejaïa, Algeria, following a Magnitude 6.00 Earthquake on 18 March 2021. Zine Ghebouli/Twitter.

Algeria lies on the northernmost part of the African Plate, while southern Europe to the north is part of Eurasia. Africa is pushing into Europe from the south, which causes Earthquakes around the Mediterranean Basin. These are most common in southeast Europe, but those in northwest Africa, while less frequent, are often larger and more deadly.