Earthquake felt by residents of northern Bekaa

BEKAA — An earthquake was felt by residents of the northern Bekaa on Sunday, our regional correspondent reported.

The National Center for Geophysics said the tremor struck at 1:01 p.m. local time on Jan. 18, 2026, registering 3.4 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was located in the Labweh area of Baalbeck District. Several residents reported feeling the shaking.

Last week, several residents of Beirut felt a series of mild seismic tremors lasting about 10 seconds and with a 4.1-magnitude.

L’Orient Today spoke with Tony Nemer, professor of geology, structural geology and seismology after last week's earthquake who said that "it is impossible to predict the date, place and magnitude of an earthquake. It is totally random: we do not know when a fault is going to move, when it will rupture or when this movement and rupture will generate an earthquake."

Reporting contributed by our Bekaa correspondent Sara Abdallah