A car is buried in debris after an
earthquake in Kata Achaia, about 240km west of Athens June 8, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
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ATHENS, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Two quake-related
fatalities and 37 injuries were reported in a strong earthquake measuring a
magnetite of 6.5 which rocked much of southwest Greece on Sunday.
The earthquake was recorded at 3:25 p.m. local time
(1325 GMT) and was felt as far away as capital Athens, some 230 kilometers to
the east of the epicenter.
According to Athens News Agency, a couple of
provincial roadways were blocked off in the region from cracks in the pavement
and from at least one landslide. Power outages were also reported throughout
Achaia and Ileia prefectures.
According to Professor Gerasimos Papadopoulos, head
of Greece's Earthquake Risk Assessment Committee, the earthquake was "shallow",
occurring roughly 10 kilometers beneath the earth's surface and with an
epicenter near the town of Andravida, 30 kilometers southwest of the western
port city of Patras in southwest Greece. The earthquake was the strongest to hit
the area since 1802, according to reports.
The quake lasted between 20 to 25 seconds, according
to the first eyewitness accounts, and was followed by a strong aftershock of 4.7
on the Richter scale, recorded at 3:55 p.m. local time (1355 GMT) on Sunday.
A nationwide mobilization of civil defense and fire
brigade units commenced after the natural disaster. Schools were also ordered
closed on Monday in the affected areas.
ATHENS, June 8 (Xinhua) -- A strong earthquake with a
preliminary magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale struck southwestern Greece
Sunday, local media reported.
The quake struck at 15:25 local time (1225 GMT),
leaving one person dead and nearly a dozen injured, said the Athens News Agency.
Some witnesses said the quake lasted 20 to 25
seconds, which was felt in Athens and throughout southern and central Greece,
media reports said. Full story
