A 6.4-MAGNITUDE earthquake struck Albania today, killing four people and sparking panic in the capital and other cities, said officials and local media.

The epicentre of the quake, the strongest in the region in decades, was 34km northwest of Tirana, said the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

“There is considerable damage,” Defence Ministry spokesman Albana Qajahaj told AFP.

A man in his 50s died after jumping several storeys from a building in Kurbin in the northwest, said the ministry.

A three-storey hotel in the port town of Durres collapsed, while another building in the city centre was badly damaged.

Damage was also reported in Thumana, 30km northwest of Tirana.

At least 150 injured people are being treated at hospitals in Tirana and Durres, said Health Minister Ogerta Manasterliu.

The quake was felt across the Balkans, from Sarajevo to Bosnia, and even in the Serbian city of Novi Sad almost 700km away, according to local news reports and social media posts.

It was followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 5.3 magnitude, said the seismological centre.

The same region in Albania was hit by a 5.6-magnitude quake in September, described by authorities then as the strongest earthquake of the last 20 to 30 years.

The Balkans is an area prone to seismic activity, and quakes are frequent. – AFP, November 26, 2019.