North Africa, SAEDNEWS: The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter near Béjaïa, Algeria, early morning on Thursday 18 March 2021 at 1:04 am local time. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface.
The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the United States Geological Survey, which listed it as a magnitude 6.0 earthquake.
Other agencies reporting the same quake include Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) at magnitude 6.2, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.7, and Spain's Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) at magnitude 5.8.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused the light to moderate damage (Source: IranPress).