Seismic tremor felt in Beirut overnight: Lebanese observatory says no cause for concern

BEIRUT — Several residents of Beirut felt a series of mild seismic tremors overnight from Saturday to Sunday, lasting about 10 seconds.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), an official American scientific agency, reported that it was a magnitude 4.1 earthquake on the Richter scale, with its epicenter only about sixty kilometers off the coast of the capital at a depth of around ten kilometers.

The USGS specified that the tremor, which apparently did not cause any damage, was also felt in Syria and Israel.

In an interview with Lebanese media, Marlène Brax, director of the National Center for Geophysics (Seismic Observatory), explained that this event is part of the natural seismic movement in the eastern Mediterranean, emphasizing that there are currently no concerning signs.

She reported three consecutive tremors, the first being the strongest at 3.4 degrees, followed by two others of 2.9 and 3.1 degrees, which explains why residents mainly felt the first tremor.

This occurred at around 12:10 a.m., the second at 1:15 a.m., and the third at 1:30 a.m., she said, adding that seismic activity then returned to normal with no further significant tremors.