A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.8 rocked the west coast of Greece early Friday. The tremor was felt in the tourist hotspot island of Zakynthos, also known as Zante. It shook the Athens, the Greek capital, and as far away as Albania, Italy, Libya and Malta.
[yuzo_related]
The epicenter of the quake was 20 miles southwest of Mouzaki in the southern part of the island. As per local time, tremors were first felt just before 2 am.
The quake caused a small tsunami of 15 to 20 cm on the nearby beaches. No significant damage has been reported so far, but power has been cut off in the island capital.
Landslides were reported in another part of the island and part of a church wall collapsed in the mainland town of Pyrgos, in the southern Peloponnese area.
This earthquake was followed by two more brief tremors in the Zakynthos.
Greece is located in one of the world’s most earthquake-prone regions with thousands of quakes recorded every year. However, only a few of them end up causing damage to life and property.
Image Credit: Free Malaysia Today
