Status: October 12, 2021 1:27 p.m.
Just two weeks ago, tremors had wreaked havoc on Crete. Now a quake off the coast shook the Greek holiday island again. So far there have been no reports of injuries or even deaths.
A severe earthquake struck off the coast of the Greek island of Crete. According to the European Earthquake Observatory, the quake had a magnitude of 6.3. The United States Geological Survey gave the strength at 6.4. Its epicenter was therefore a good 20 kilometers east of the island and around eight kilometers below the sea floor. Minutes later there were further quakes of magnitude 4.1 and 4.5 that are believed to be aftershocks, according to the Geodynamic Institute in Athens.
So far nothing is known about serious damage or injuries. According to the authorities, the police and fire brigade are checking buildings in eastern Crete for damage. The quake was felt in the Greek islands east of Crete, including Karpathos, Kassos and Rhodes.
Second strong quake in a short time
In the port city of Heraklion and many other places, people fled to the streets in a panic. Eyewitnesses reported on social media that the earth shook for at least 29 seconds.
Only about two weeks ago the island was shaken by a magnitude 5.8 quake. One person was killed, several people were injured and hundreds of buildings were badly damaged. At that time, the center of the quake was around 23 kilometers from Heraklion on the island.