2 earthquakes felt in Israel

2 earthquakes felt in Israel

Small to moderate tremors felt from Negev Desert to central Israel; no injuries, damage reported. ‘I just lied in bed and felt the room move,’ Tel Aviv resident recounts

Two earthquakes measuring 3.6 and 4.5 on the Richter Scale were felt from the Negev Desert to the Sharon region in central Israel at around 12:15 a.m. Saturday.

No injuries or damage were reported.

Rami Hofstetter of the Geophysical Institute of Israel told Ynet that the earthquakes were small to moderate in magnitude, adding that the epicenter was on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea.

The earthquakes occurred about a minute apart, he said.

“The chair I was sitting on began to wobble,” a Rishon Letzion resident recounted, “but the house itself did not shake.”

Aharon Deutch of Tel Aviv told Ynet “I live on the 6th floor; I was lying in bed when I felt the room start shaking.”

A Netanya resident said the earthquake that hit the area lasted about two minutes.

In 2004 an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter Scale rattled the country; several injuries were reported and a number of buildings were damaged.