Strong earthquake hits southern Greece
A powerful earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale hit the Peloponnese region of southern Greece Sunday and was felt throughout the country although there were no reports of casualties or damage.
The geodynamics institute of the Athens observatory said the epicentre of the tremor, which struck at 7:14 am (0514 GMT), was near the village of Leonidio in the southeast Peloponnese, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Athens.
"The tremor occurred at a depth of more than 70 kilometres (45 miles) and that is why there have been no casualties," observatory spokesman Yannis Drakatos said.
The director of the observatory George Stavrakakis said the quake "is only of scientific interest now - the danger has passed."
"People can calm down. Even if the quake was felt all over the country, we are not expecting any strong aftershocks."
Two weak aftershocks measuring 3.4 and 3.9 on the Richter scale were however felt at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) and 9:49 am (0749 GMT), Maria Kolygri, a seismologist at the observatory, told AFP.
The first had the same epicentre as the quake and the second was a little further east, she said.
Initially Greek media broke off normal programmes to report the tremor, which was particularly felt in the capital and in the south, where many residents were woken up and went out into the street.
Local authorities and police were mobilised in the Peloponnese and Crete but an hour later were able to report there had been no significant damage or victims.
Police in Leonidio said stones had fallen into roads but traffic was normal. The village's mayor Dimitris Tsigounis said on public television that no houses had been damaged but officials were still checking schools.
The Italian civil protection authority in Rome said the quake was also felt throughout southern Italy but there were no reports of damage or casualties.
Greece is the European country most prone to earthquakes, with seismic activity here accounting for half of the continent's tremors.
The last serious earthquake in Greece was on September 7, 1999, when 143 people were killed. Its epicentre was 60 kilometres (40 miles) west of Athens and it registered 5.9 on the Richter scale.
In the Peloponnese, a quake registered 6.2 on the Richter scale in September 1986, leaving 20 people dead and causing extensive damage.
http://www.physorg.com/news118813429.html
