Several earthquakes hit northern Croatian coast, no injuries

Zagreb: A series of earthquakes have hit the northern Croatian Adriatic coast, triggering panic among tourists and residents but causing no major damage.

The Croatian seismological service said today that several quakes ranging from magnitude 2.5 to 3.9 shook the areas around the port of Rijeka, sending people out of their homes and hotels.

Some people slept in their cars overnight as the earth shook almost constantly since yesterday. The last tremor, measuring 3.9, hit at 1:37 p.M. (1137 GMT) today Croatian seismologist Tomislav Fiket says that "we see that the energy is being released and it's better if it's released through a series of minor tremors than a single destructive one."

Croatian media is reporting only minor damage, mostly to older houses.