Greece earthquake news: Major tremors strike island of Rhodes as vibrations felt as far as Israel

Updates on the earthquake in Greece as they happened

A chapel near the village of Zakros on the eastern coast of the island of Crete that was damaged by the last earthquake to strike the country on 12 October (Costas Metaxakis/AFP/Getty)

A powerful earthquake has struck off the coast of Greece measuring between 5.9 and 6.4 on the Richter scale, with the tremors reportedly felt as far away as Turkey, Egypt, Syria and Israel and the incident coming just a week after another 6.3-magnitude quake hit Crete, reducing buildings to rubble.

The epicentre of the new quake is believed to be close to the Dodecanese island of Rhodes. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported the event on Twitter this morning, writing: “This M6.4 earthquake was felt in Eastern Mediterranean Sea, South Greece.”

Witnesses reported feeling rooms “sway from side to side” and seeing beds and other furniture moving. One resident of Lindos, a town on Rhodes, wrote of their shock on the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre website, exclaiming: “Wow! Really felt that one! Curtains moving, chair moving in a weird side to side and round motion - felt quite seasick! Lasted for 30 seconds.”

Key Points

• Greece struck by massive earthquake off Rhodes
• Map shows quake’s epicentre as tremors felt thousands of miles away

[19 October 2021 09:29 · Joe Sommerlad]

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage as Greece again reels from the impact of a major earthquake.

[19 October 2021 09:33 · Joe Sommerlad]

Greece struck by massive earthquake off Rhodes

A powerful earthquake has struck off the coast of Greece measuring between 5.9 and 6.4 on the Richter scale, with the tremors reportedly felt as far away as Turkey, Egypt, Syria and Israel.

The epicentre of the quake is believed to be close to the island of Rhodes. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported the incident on Twitter, writing: “This M6.4 earthquake was felt in Eastern Mediterranean Sea, South Greece.”

Witnesses to the quake reported feeling rooms “sway from side to side” and seeing beds and other furniture moving.

Here’s the latest from Holly Bancroft.

[19 October 2021 09:50 · Joe Sommerlad]

Map shows quake’s epicentre as tremors felt thousands of miles away

This was the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC)’s tweet, which drew responses on its forum from locals saying they had experienced beds, sofas and even entire hotel rooms swaying with the vibrations.

On Twitter, followers from further afield like Cyprus, Cairo, Jerusalem and Beirut also tweeted the EMSC to tell them they had felt the tremors thousands of miles away.

[19 October 2021 10:15 · Joe Sommerlad]

Video shows shop rattled by tremors

Estimates vary on precisely how strong this morning’s quake was but the consensus seems to be around the 6.0-6.1 mark, placing it slightly below last week’s strike on Crete.

Meanwhile, this video apparently taken from the security camera of a shop in Karpathos (around 92.5 miles from the epicentre) shows the shelves and light fixtures shaking from the tremors.

[19 October 2021 10:25 · Joe Sommerlad]

Turkish governor says no injuries or damage reported

Across the sea, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate said this morning’s undersea quake struck 117 miles off the resort town of Kas in Antalya at around 8.32am local time.

Kas’s district governor, Saban Arda Yazici, said authorities had not received any reports of damage or injury in Kas itself or its environs, a relief given Turkey’s close proximity to faultlines, which means earthquake’s a recurrent problem.

[19 October 2021 10:41 · Joe Sommerlad]

Israel’s Energy Ministry issues safety advice after quake

While this morning’s vibrations were felt as far away as Jerusalem, Israel does not appear to have suffered any damage either.

The seismology division of the country’s Energy Ministry has nevertheless issued the following reminder to the public to stay out in the open and away from tall buildings should a quake strike.

Here’s their four step advice for responding to an earthquake, according to The Jerusalem Post, which offers more details.

1. Go outside and, if possible, head to a bomb shelter or stairwell for cover. Failing that, hide under heavy furniture.

2. Stay away from dangerous structures like buildings, bridges and electricity pylons.

3. Leave the beach as an earthquake at sea could spark a tsunami.

4. Stop driving and get out into the open, away from bridges and interchanges.

[19 October 2021 10:57 · Joe Sommerlad]

Greece struck for third time in four weeks

Crete has twice been hit by earthquakes in recent weeks: the 6.3-magntitude boom on 12 October and a 6.0-scale one on 27 September.

According to Ethymios Lekkas, president of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organisation of Greece, the two quakes were unrelated and arose from two different faults.

The former event prompted the UK Foreign Office to warn holidaymakers staying at the resort island to “remain vigilant” for aftershocks and caused damage to another of buildings.

A damaged church in Xerokampos near Sitia after the 12 October quake struck Crete (Nikos Chalkiadakis/EPA)

A view of a destroyed chapel following an earthquake in the village of Xerokampos (Reuters)

Damage done to an old house in Zakros village, near Sitia (Nikos Chalkiadakis/EPA)