An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 hit the southeast of Asmara and northern part of neighboring Ethiopia on Tuesday evening, authorities have confirmed.
The quake, which was at a depth of 10 km, occurred at around 8:15 pm local time (17:15 GMT), according to Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Meskel.
The epicenter was about 65 km east-southeast of Asmara at the town of Irafalle. Much of Eritrea and parts of far northern Ethiopia, mainly in the Tigray region, including its capital, Mekelle, experienced light to moderate shaking.
A series of earthquakes measuring up to 4.7 on the Richter scale were recorded at the same location and depth from 6:36 am to 8:00 am on Wednesday.
"The 5.6 magnitude earthquake that occurred last night in Irafalle area was followed by subsequent 4.7 scale quakes in the same region," Yemane Meskel said, adding: "Five houses collapsed in Senafe area. No other destruction or loss of life."
The minister noted that tremors were felt in Asmara, Massawa and other distant areas. No casualties have been reported so far, but five houses were destroyed in Karibosa sub-zone in the Debub (Southern) region of Eritrea.
A month ago, on July 2, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2 struck the same geographical areas of the country.