Moderately strong quake hits off western Peloponnese
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 has struck southern Greece off the coast of the western Peloponnese.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the quake, which was also felt in the Greek capital and as far away as the southern island of Crete.
The quake struck Friday morning and was centered beneath the seabed near the Strofades islands, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south-southwest of the western city of Patras, according to the Athens Geodynamic Institute.
Speaking to Kathimerini, Efthymios Lekkas, a professor of geology and disaster management at Athens University, downplayed the earthquake as a “shallow event” that “appears not to have impacted building infrastructures or people.”
Athanasios Ganas, the Director of Research at the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens, also offered reassurance.
“Residents of the Ionian and Peloponnese need not be concerned,” he said. “The magnitude is within expectations for the area where the quake took place,” he said, explaining that it occurred at the boundary between the Eurasian and African plates. [AP, Kathimerini]
