Magnitude-6.1 earthquake strikes off Greek island of Crete
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Crete on Thursday morning, with tremors felt across Greece and Cyprus. No tsunami occurred, and authorities issued a precautionary alert as aftershocks were not expected.
- Life
- DPA
- Published Date: 10:14 | 22 May 2025
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the Greek island of Crete on Thursday morning, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The quake occurred at a depth of 68.9 kilometres, with its epicentre located about 58 kilometres north-east of the small town of Eloúnda, according to the USGS.
Residents told Greek media that the quake felt unusually long. The perceived duration of earthquakes, however, is not something officially recorded by monitoring agencies.
According to Greek newspaper To Proto Thema, the quake was also felt strongly on the Peloponnese peninsula, the Cyclades and even as far away as Cyprus.
Thanasis Ganas, head of research at the Geodynamic Institute of Athens, gave the all-clear, saying he expected hardly any aftershocks.
As a precaution, the Greek disaster management authority issued a tsunami warning, sending alerts via SMS to people in the affected region. However, no tsunami occurred.
The tremor comes just days after a series of smaller quakes shook the northern part of Euboea, Greece's second-largest island.
Within 24 hours, several earthquakes measuring up to 4.7 rattled the region, with tremors felt as far away as Athens, roughly 130 kilometres to the south. According to local media reports, more than 50 homes were damaged.