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An estimated 800 people were killed and 8,000 injured when a magnitude 6.7 quake hit Northern Algeria at 7:44pm local time. The epicenter was east of Boumerdes, near the village of Zemmouri, about 45 milies east of Algiers.

The quake, which lasted several seconds, had aftershocks felt for up to half an hour after the main jolt.

The temblor was the biggest to hit the North African country since 1980, when a much stronger earthquake, measuring 7.7, killed about 5,000 people.

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Preliminary Earthquake Report
U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center
World Data Center for Seismology, Denver

Magnitude	6.7
Date-Time	Wednesday, May 21, 2003 at 18:44:19 (UTC) - Coordinated Universal Time Wednesday, May 21, 2003 at 07:44:19 PM local time at epicenter
Location	36.89N 3.78E
Depth	10.0 kilometers
Region	NORTHERN ALGERIA
Reference	70 km (45 miles) E of ALGIERS, Algeria 95 km (60 miles) ENE of Blida, Algeria 165 km (105 miles) WNW of Setif, Algeria 235 km (145 miles) ENE of Ech-Cheliff, Algeria
Location Quality	Error estimate: horizontal +/- 17.3 km; depth fixed by location program
Location Quality Parameters	Nst=51, Nph=51, Dmin=568.9 km, Rmss=1.32 sec, Erho=17.3 km, Erzz=0 km, Gp=61.6 degrees
Source	USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Remarks	The magnitude and location may be revised when additional data and further analysis results are available.

Tectonic Setting The earthquake occurred in the boundary region between the Eurasian plate and the African plate. Along this section of the plate boundary, the African plate is moving northwestward against the Eurasian plate with a velocity of about 6 mm per year. The relative plate motions create a compressional tectonic environment, in which earthquakes occur by thrust-faulting and strike-slip faulting. Analysis of seismic waves generated by this earthquake shows that it occurred as the result of thrust-faulting. Algeria has experienced many destructive earthquakes. On October 10, 1980, the city of El Asnam (formerly Orleansville and today Ech-Cheliff) was severely damaged by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that killed at least 5000 people. The site of El Asnam is situated approximately 220 km to the west of the recent earthquake. The same city, as Orleansville, had been heavily damaged on September 9, 1954, by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake that killed over 1000 people. On October 29, 1989, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck about 110 km to the west of the recent earthquake and killed at least 30 people.