UPDATE: Earthquake of magnitude 6.2 strikes Greece
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An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck central Greece on Wednesday, sending people rushing from their houses but drawing no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which reported that the earthquake was at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), revised initial reports that put it at magnitudes of 6.9 and 5.9.
“I have never experienced anything like this before, “I immediately left the house” a citizen in Larissa region, in central Greece, told ERT state television.
The Fire Brigade was investigating reports of a house that collapsed in Mesochori, Elassona, to see if anyone was trapped.
Costas Agorastos, local governor in the central Thessaly region told state television that local schools had been advised to close.
The Athens Geodynamic Institute said that the epicentre was 20 km south of the town of Elassona in central Greece.
A fire service official in Athens said there were no reports of damages or injuries so far but added: “My colleagues felt it, it was strong.”
Greek seismologists said the tremor was felt across Greece.
Residents wait on the street in Larissa city, after a strong earthquake shook the wider region of Thessaly, central Greece, 03 March 2021. EPA-EFE/APOSTOLIS DOMALIS
“It was a big earthquake the consequences of which we do not yet know,” seismologist Efthymis Lekkas told state television ERT.
The German Research Centre for Geosciences pegged the earthquake at magnitude 6.0, with a depth of 10 km.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a news conference in Ankara that Turkey would provide Greece with “all the support we can, if needed.”
The tremor was also registered (below) in Malta by the Seismic Monitoring & Research Group at the University of Malta.
Main Photo: Damages in the entrance of a court house in Larissa city, after a strong earthquake that shook the wider region of Thessaly, central Greece. EPA-EFE/APOSTOLIS DOMALIS
