4 deaths and collapse of buildings in the strongest earthquake shaking Albania in decades

Arab Weather - At least four people died in Albania early on Tuesday morning, due to a major earthquake is the strongest in decades , which led to the collapse of buildings and the siege of some residents in the rubble.

The US Geological Survey said the quake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale occurred just before 4 am local time (0300 GMT), the second strong earthquake to shake the region in two months, according to "Reuters"

The epicenter of the quake was 30 km west of Tirana and at a depth of 10 km, the agency said.

Video footage posted on social media sites could not be verified and what appeared to be a collapsed building in Durres, on the Adriatic coast 40 km (25 miles) west of the capital. Other recordings showed buildings with large faults, including an apartment where most of the bedroom walls fell.

"Firefighters and military personnel are helping residents (trapped) under the rubble" in Doris and Thomani, a Defense Ministry spokeswoman told reporters.

Three hours after the major quake, a strong aftershock hit the city. There were also smaller tremors in the hour before the quake, which was felt in the Balkans and the Puglia region of southern Italy.

Albania, located on the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea between Greece and Macedonia, is experiencing frequent seismic activities.

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook the country on September 21, damaging some 500 homes and destroying several others. The Defense Ministry said at the time it was the strongest earthquake in Albania in 30 years.

Albania is the poorest country in Europe and has an average per capita income of less than one third of the average in the European Union, according to data of the European Union statistics office (Eurostat).