Town in Kosovo hit by series of jolts - "but no quake swarm"

Town in Kosovo hit by series of jolts - "but no quake swarm"

BELGRADE -- A 2.8-magnitude earthquake was registered late on Monday in the area of the town of Pec in western Kosovo and Metohija.

It "caused no material damage despite upsetting residents," the deputy director of the Seismological Survey of Serbia (RSZ), Branko Dragicevic, told Tanjug on Monday.

From January 18 until 20:18 CET on Sunday, January 25, a total of 18 earthquakes have been registered - following a series of four smaller ones, the strongest measuring 4 on the Richter scale, Dragicevic said.

Six of these quakes could be felt, while the rest were only registered by instruments, he explained.

The number of tremors that hit the area is still insufficient for there to be talk of "an earthquake quake swarm", which can sometimes precede a stronger event, he explained, Tanjug reported.

Historical data shows that the Pec area was hit by a 5.8M earthquake in 1662, one that measured 5.5 in 1959, and another reaching 3.7 magnitude in 2000.