Albania
An aerial photograph taken on June 1, 2020, shows straw sun umbrellas at a beach in Qerret near the city of Kavaja. Albania opened its land borders on June 1st and approved further easing measures, allowing most activities bar large public gatherings, public transport and weddings to resume. Hotel beaches also opened on June 1st and on June 6th all public beaches will open. A magnitude-4.2 earthquake hit western Albania. Image Credit: AFP

Tirana, Albania: A magnitude-4.2 earthquake hit western Albania on Monday causing panic among the population but no injuries or material damage has been reported so far.

The Institute of Geosciences, Energy, Water and Environment, the country's seismical agency said the quake hit at 1521 GMT at Kuraten village, 34 kilometers (20 miles) west of the capital, Tirana.

The Defense Ministry said preliminary information revealed no damage.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre put the preliminary magnitude at 4.5.

Many people in Tirana left their homes fearing a repeat of the 6.4-magnitude earthquake in November that killed 51 people and left some 17,000 people homeless around the country.

Albania has started rebuilding many of the destroyed buildings after securing a 1.15 billion Euro ($1.3 billion) funding commitment from international donors.