Mild earthquake hits north Israel: 'We thought building would collapse'

Center of 3.5-magnitude earthquake was in Lake Kinneret; no injuries or damage reported. Tiberias resident: We thought a disaster was coming

Ynet reporters |Published: 10.17.13 , 22:40

A mild earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter Scale hit north Israel Thursday night. So far there have been no reports of injury or damage. The Geophysical Institute of Israel said the quake's epicenter was in Lake Kinneret. It was felt at around 9:20 pm.

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"We felt the sofas in the living room move and the windows shook," a resident of Tiberias said. "The entire house shook."

Another Tiberias resident told Ynet: "All the neighbors stepped out of the building; they thought it was about to collapse. My legs were shaking; we couldn't stand straight. My wife was panicking and she began to cry; she thought a disaster was about to happen."

The earthquake was also felt in Nazareth Illit. "The entire house shook for 15 seconds, and within five seconds I realized it was an earthquake," Lauri Laibo told Ynet from his 8th floor apartment in the city. "It wasn't a severe jolt, but the bed moved."

On Saturday a 6.4-magnitude earthquake which originated west of the island of Crete was felt in Israel. The center of the quake was 22.5 miles below the seabed 43 miles west of Chania on Crete, the US Geological Survey said.