Several older houses collapsed and people were buried. There have been reports of injuries and at least one death.
Heraklion – At least one person was killed in a strong earthquake on the island of Crete on Monday morning, according to media reports, nine were slightly injured.
Three people are said to be buried in collapsed houses, reported the Greek newspaper “To Proto Thema”. These are houses near the epicenter near the villages of Arkalochori and Patsideros.
The quake occurred at 9:17 a.m. (local time) and, according to the Geodynamic Institute in Athens, had a magnitude of 5.8, the Potsdam Helmholtz Center gave the magnitude 6. Many people in the Cretan port city of Heraklion, but also on the Turkish southwest coast, fled buildings onto the streets, as TV images showed. A number of older houses collapsed on Crete, and newer buildings also showed cracks. The epicenter was around 20 kilometers southeast of Heraklion.
In Turkey, the quake was felt mainly in the coastal region of Datca, where people also ran onto the streets. At first there was no information about injuries or deaths there. Reports that Turkish authorities had issued a tsunami warning were initially not confirmed.
The Turkish newspaper “Hürriyet” reported that although the quake was felt in the south-west of the country, there was no tsunami warning. dpa
