Newsroom
A powerful earthquake struck off the northern coast of Crete early Thursday morning, shaking large parts of Greece and even being felt in areas of Cyprus. Fortunately, despite the strength of the tremor, there are no reports of serious damage or injuries.
The earthquake, which occurred at 6:19 a.m. local time, had a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale, according to Greece’s Geodynamic Institute. Its epicenter was located 56 kilometers north of Neapolis in the Lassithi region of Crete, with a depth of just over 60 kilometers beneath the seabed.
The shaking was strong enough to wake people on the island and cause a stir on social media, with reports flooding in from as far away as Athens and central Greece. In Cyprus, residents in some areas also reported feeling light tremors.
While the earthquake rattled nerves, it did not lead to major destruction. Fire services in Crete were placed on alert, and patrols were quickly dispatched. Minor landslides were recorded on parts of the road network, and in Heraklion, pieces of an older building on 25th August Street reportedly fell, but no injuries were reported.
Municipal authorities and regional services remain on heightened alert, but all signs point to a relatively minor impact overall.
Seismologist and president of Greece’s Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (OASP), Efthymis Lekkas, said the earthquake’s depth helped to reduce its intensity at the surface and eliminated any tsunami risk.
“This was a strong but deep earthquake, and that depth helped spread the seismic energy more widely but less destructively,” Lekkas explained. “It was felt across half the country and even reached parts of Cyprus , but fortunately, no major damage has occurred.”
Lekkas added that this type of earthquake is unlikely to be a precursor to a larger one. “Typically, deep quakes like this come in a single strong event, with few aftershocks,” he said.
Although Cyprus was not in the quake’s danger zone, its tremors were noticeable in some communities.
