Two earthquakes shook the Smolyan area within about ten minutes, while subsequent weaker tremors frightened residents of several villages. So far, there have been no reports of injured people or material damage.
The first tremor was recorded at 5:10 p.m. and had a magnitude of 2.6. According to data from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, its epicenter was about 10 kilometers north-northeast of Smolyan, at a depth of approximately 2 kilometers.
About ten minutes later, a second earthquake was recorded. There are discrepancies in the published figures: the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre lists a magnitude of 3.5, while subsequent information cited by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) gives a magnitude of 3.7. Another report from the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences lists a magnitude of 3.2 for a tremor with an epicenter between the villages of Vievo and Kutela.
Momchilovtsi Mayor Siyka Surkova said that numerous aftershocks followed the strongest tremor.
„My phone overheated with calls from people. In addition to the ground shaking, there is also a cracking sound. The residents are frightened and are asking me whether something is exploding somewhere,“ Surkova said.According to her, no reports of damage or injuries had been received in the village so far.
Kutela Mayor Sevdalina Markova also confirmed that the aftershocks had continued to be felt. She told BTA: „It was very serious. We were hit by an earthquake twice. People are frightened.“ According to her, residents had left their homes and remained out on the street.
Vievo Mayor Venko Palchev said that people in the village had felt two tremors at an interval of about ten minutes, with the second being significantly stronger. He said that no reports of material damage had been received.
The seismic activity was also felt in Smolyan. According to the latest published data, there is no information about destruction, damaged buildings or the need for evacuation.
Sources: blitz.bg, nova.bg, dariknews.bg