China News Service, September 28. According to Euronet, citing EUN News Agency, at 9:17 on September 27, local time, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurred 23 kilometers northwest of Arvi in Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
The focal depth is about 10 kilometers.
As of press time, the earthquake has caused at least one death and 11 injuries.
After the strong earthquake, aftershocks continued, but no tsunami warning was issued.
According to reports, the Institute of Dynamics of Athens and the Seismology Laboratory of the University of Athens stated that the epicenter of the 5.8 magnitude earthquake was 27.7 kilometers away from Heraklion, the capital of Crete, and the focal depth was only about 10 kilometers.
According to data measured by the European Mediterranean Seismic Center, the magnitude of the earthquake was 6.5 on the Richter scale and the focal depth was 2 kilometers.
When the earthquake occurred, the entire island of Crete felt strong and lasted for a long time. It was also felt in areas such as Santorini.
Frightened residents gathered in the square and open space.
The local school has ordered an evacuation.
Srignakis, head of the local government of Heraklion, announced that all schools under Heraklion would be closed.
The fire team, police and ambulances rushed to the disaster relief.
So far, there have been many reports of damage to buildings. In the small towns of Arkalochori, Patsidero and Roussochoria, a large number of buildings have been damaged by the earthquake , Many old churches collapsed in the earthquake.
At least three people were trapped in the severely damaged building.
According to the Greek national television station ERT, a man died in the collapsed church in Akalohori.
In addition, at least 11 people were injured in the strong earthquake, of which one was seriously injured.
The municipality of Crete stated that the strong earthquake affected a wide range of areas. In addition to severe damage to buildings, power and water supply networks were also damaged.
According to the latest news from the Greek authorities, Knossos, the remains of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, has been inspected, and no earthquake has been found to cause damage to it.
Greek citizens living near the epicenter generally reported on social platforms that many earthquakes have occurred on the Greek island of Crete this year, but the intensity and duration of this earthquake have exceeded the previous ones.
Many locals claim that there has never been such an earthquake in the area.
They are worried that they do not know whether they should stay in the house in the next few days. The strong earthquake is lingering fear.
After this intense occurrence, several aftershocks occurred.
Greek geologist Papazakhs said in a media interview that Crete has been seismically active since the end of May. There are several known faults in the area, but they are rarely active, and the strong earthquake occurred in On land rather than at sea, such a situation is very rare and may only happen once every hundreds of years.
Papazzahs said that the next week will be very difficult. Crete will have many aftershocks, but the 5.8 magnitude earthquake is already the main shock, so there should be no more earthquakes of higher magnitude.
Lekas, director of the Greek Earthquake Planning and Protection Agency, said that the earthquake in Crete was stronger than expected. He called on residents to stay away from unsafe buildings, especially old houses.
As the local aftershocks continue, it is expected that more disasters may spread in the earthquake area.
Officials of the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection and Special Forces for Disaster Management (EMAK) have rushed to the disaster area.
Crete has entered a state of full alert, and rescue teams are dispatching drones, search and rescue dogs, etc. to find more people who may be trapped.
In addition, police officers and firefighters are patrolling the area, and at the same time appeal to the public to be especially careful and follow the instructions of the authorities.
(Liang Manyu)