The earth shook on the Greek island of Crete on Monday morning.
The quake reached a strength of up to 6.5 on the Richter scale and was still felt on the southwest coast of Turkey.
Heraklion - Shortly after 9 a.m. local time, the earth shook in the port city of Heraklion on the north coast of the Greek island of Crete.
According to the dpa news agency, the strength of the quake was 5.8 to 6 on the Richter scale, other sources named the strength of 6.5.
The tremors were still felt even on the southwest coast of Turkey.
Earthquake in Greece: at least one fatality
On Monday morning, when the earthquake started, people ran into the street in a panic and several buildings collapsed.
A total of eleven people were injured, and the helpers had to free numerous residents from collapsed houses.
According to eyewitness reports, the main quake lasted several seconds and the island was subsequently shaken by several aftershocks.
Seismologists believe the main quake is over, but many people will spend the night outdoors or in their cars.
The epicenter of the quake was around 20 kilometers south of the port city of Heraklion.
The localities of Arkalochori, Patsideros and Viannos were particularly badly affected.
A man died in Viannos.
The 62-year-old was busy repairing previous earthquake damage in a church when the earthquake struck on Monday.
His son was also injured, but survived and was taken to the hospital.
Greek earthquake felt in Turkey too
The severe earthquake on the popular holiday island of Crete in Greece was still felt on the southwest coast of Turkey. The region around Datca, which is about 300 kilometers from the epicenter as the crow flies, was particularly affected. For a short time there was a rumor that the Turkish authorities had issued a tsunami warning. However, this could not be confirmed. There are no known injuries or deaths from the earthquake in Turkey.
Greece lies on several fault lines in the earth's crust, which is why earthquakes are not uncommon in the Mediterranean country.
Since the tremors often occur in the sea, there are seldom deaths or serious damage.
The strength of earthquakes is measured, among other things, on the Richter scale.
This is a magnitude scale.
The value between six and seven is considered strong, experts assume around 120 such quakes per year worldwide.
The magnitude 5.8 to 6.5 earthquake in Greece roughly corresponds to the detonation of up to 50 megatons of explosives.
(bme / dpa / afp)
