Most powerful earthquake in decades rocks Albania, buildings damaged

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The 6.4 magnitude quake struck shortly before 4 a.m. local time (0300 GMT), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, the second powerful tremor to hit the region in two months.

It was centered 30 km (19 miles) west of Tirana, at a shallow depth of 10 km (6 miles), the USGS said.

One person died in the town of Kurbin, in central northern Albania, after panicking and jumping out of a building, a Defense Ministry spokeswoman said.