News

Early this morning we received an email from Zakia Rahali of our Algiers office advising us that an earthquake of a magnitude of 5.6 occurred at around 04:11 local time this morning off the coast of Algiers.

The full effects of the earthquake are not yet fully known and after-shocks are to be expected.

Initial reports indicated that most inland casualties had been caused by attempts to flee the danger by leaving their homes to seek open ground rather than as a direct consequence of the earthquake.  Many will recall the terrible Boumerdes and Algiers earthquakes of May 2003 which resulted in thousands of dead and injured, power cuts and telecommunications failures.

Around 08:00 this morning, some witnesses were claiming that Tsunami-type waves were occurring but this has yet to be confirmed.

We are monitoring the situation and will keep you posted.