Earthquake sends a tremor across the Baltics

Sep 22, 2004
By The Baltic Times

VILNIUS 's An earthquake with an epicenter in Kaliningrad Oblast sent a wave of tremors throughout the Baltics and as far as Tallinn. The aftershocks were measured as high as 5.3 on the Richter scale.

No damage was reported as a result of the tremors, though there were many instances of books, vases, flowerpots and other items falling off shelves and desks.

The area that apparently experienced the worst aftershocks was Liepaja, the port city in western Latvia. There residents were so frightened by the shaking houses that many ran outside and called emergency services.

Lithuanian Geology Service Director Juozas Mockevicius said such tremors did not pose a big danger.

"One should not panic. We are in a territory that is safe enough from a seismological point of view. These tremors should not have destructive power," he said.

The earthquake, which had been felt clearly, was recorded by the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant's seismograph, though the atomic plant did not suffer in the least from the aftershocks, according to reports.

Mockevicius said the earthquake was felt throughout Lithuania, but its intensity was strongest in the Klaipeda region.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Kaliningrad region, and the aftershocks were recorded in Poland, Belarus, Russia and as far as Austria.

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