Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake Hits Near Greek Island of Evia, Felt in Athens

TDT | Manama

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A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck off the Greek island of Evia early Tuesday, shaking parts of Athens, authorities reported.

The quake occurred around 12:30 a.m. local time (9:30 p.m. GMT) about 45 kilometres (28 miles) northeast of Athens, according to the National Observatory of Athens. The epicentre was just four kilometres from the resort town of Nea Styra on Evia, Greece’s second-largest island.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The observatory initially measured the earthquake at magnitude 5.3 but later revised it to 5.4.

The mayor of nearby Marathon, Stergios Tsirkas, described the tremor as “very intense” in an interview with ERT television.

Greece, located in a seismically active region of the southeastern Mediterranean, frequently experiences earthquakes. In May, a magnitude 6.1 quake struck near Crete, felt as far away as Egypt. Earlier this year, Santorini experienced unusual seismic activity, prompting temporary evacuations of residents.

The last deadly earthquake in Greece occurred in October 2020 on the island of Samos. The magnitude 7 quake killed two people on Samos and more than 100 in the Turkish city of Izmir.