Two earthquakes hit Liechtenstein just as lawmakers in the tiny Alpine principality were debating the pros and cons of quake insurance. Lawmaker Bettina Petzold-Maehr had just warned that the likelihood of all Liechtenstein citizens being affected by an earthquake striking the country is high when the first small temblor hit shortly before 2pm local time Thursday. Petzold-Maehr laughed and continued until the second quake struck, the AP reports, visibly shaking the room. "This is getting a bit much," speaker Albert Frick said, announcing a 15-minute recess.
Records by the German Research Center for Geosciences showed a magnitude 4 earthquake had hit Liechtenstein, which is sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria. Liechtenstein police said no injuries or damage were reported, and gave a magnitude of 3.9 for the quake. Liechtenstein has a population of just under 39,000 and a surface area of 62 square miles, making it slightly smaller than Washington, DC.
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