A photo circulating on social media shows minor damage in an apartment in Beirut shortly after the earthquake on Aug. 12, 2023. (Credit: DR)
Whether in Beirut, Metn, or the North and Bekaa, many Lebanese felt the earthquake on Monday night, just a few minutes before midnight. On social media, videos showed chandeliers shaking and pieces of the ceiling falling in some apartments. No casualties or significant material damage were reported.
"No need to panic. It's important to know that the earthquake did not originate in Lebanon," reassured Marlene Brax, director of the Bhannes Geophysics Center affiliated with the National Council for Scientific Research (NCSR). "The likelihood of experiencing new tremors within the next 24 to 48 hours remains possible, but they will be minor," she added, noting that the country witnessed two tremors within 24 hours in 1983 and 1997.
"The earthquake that occurred on Monday night was of magnitude 5.1, with its epicenter in Hama, Syria, 80 km from Lebanon's northern border. The tremor was felt throughout Lebanon, as well as in Jordan, Palestine, Cyprus, and Turkey. It was followed by an aftershock, also recorded in Hama at 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, with a magnitude of 4.1. This aftershock was felt in some areas of Lebanon," the researcher explains.
The earthquake was triggered by what is known as the "Levant Fault," explained Brax, adding that it is different from the fault that caused the devastating earthquake in February 2023, which ravaged entire regions of Syria and Turkey, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties. That tremor was strongly felt in Lebanon.
"As I always say, after an earthquake, everyone should make decisions based on where they are. Personally, I let my children stay asleep," wrote geologist Tony Nemer on the social network X on Monday night, aiming to reassure people about the impact of the tremor in Lebanon.
Patrick Rizkallah, president of the Union of Real Estate Owners, warned in a statement about "the potential collapse of more than 10,000 at-risk buildings in Beirut if another tremor occurs."
Engineer Youssef Azzam, who heads a network for building safety in Lebanon, called for "the construction of earthquake-resistant buildings" that take into account "the geological reality" of the country.
According to NASA's Earth Observatory, Lebanon and Syria are located directly atop a major "transform fault zone" where two tectonic plates—the African Plate to the west and the Arabian Plate to the east—meet.
It is worth noting that a magnitude 4.4 earthquake occurred at the same time on Monday in California, USA. California, located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, is one of the most seismically active regions in the world.
This article originally appeared in L'Orient-Le Jour.