Magnitude-6.3 quake strikes Crete
Athens, Oct 12 (EFE).- A magnitude-6.3 earthquake shook the eastern part of the Greek island of Crete, the largest in the country, on Tuesday.
It was the second strong quake to hit the island in two weeks, after a magnitude 5.8 tremor at the end of September which damaged buildings and left one person dead.
According to the Geodynamic Institute of the Athens Observatory, the epicenter of the earthquake, which took place at 12.24 local time (09.24 GMT), was located 23 kilometers east of the town of Zakros, in the east of the island, and at a depth of 8.7 kilometers.
The tremor, which lasted for almost 30 seconds, caused alarm in the Cretan capital, Heraklion, and in other tourist towns near the epicenter, such as Ayios Nikolaos or Sitia, where damage to buildings and landslides have been reported, although no casualties have been confirmed.
The Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMS) issued a warning of a potential mild tsunami following the earthquake.
The mayor of Sitia, Yorgos Zervakis, told reporters that the strong quake had damaged some buildings, including the town hall, although the firefighters’ press office told Efe that there are no reports of material damage or personal casualties.
The chairman of the Earthquake Protection Agency, Efzymis Lekkas, said on Greek public television, ERT, that Tuesday’s quake is not related to the previous one.
The 6.3 tremor was also felt on the islands of Rhodes, Santorini and Karpathos, near where another, weaker quake struck offshore just eight minutes later. EFE
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