Magnitude 6.6 earthquake strikes Cyprus, no casualties reported

[ad_1]

An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 struck off the western coast of Cyprus early Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no reports of injuries or structural damage.

The US Geological Survey said the strong and relatively shallow quake, which struck at 0107 GMT, had its epicenter 48 kilometers (30 miles) west and northwest of the town of Polis on the Mediterranean island.

The quake was felt throughout Cyprus and around the region with reports coming in from as far away as Turkey, Israel and Lebanon, according to the US Geological Survey.

The blast shook buildings in the capital, Nicosia, 130 km away, as some residents took to the streets. It was scary. “The whole building is shaking endlessly. I thought it would never end,” a Nicosia resident told AFP.

Cypriot police told AFP that there were no reports of injuries or serious structural damage from the quake, but it did wake people across the island.

“It was a very strong earthquake. We are not used to such earthquakes,” said Marinos Lambro, mayor of Pegia, a coastal town close to the epicenter.

The residents were frightened, everyone woke up and freaked out. Hopefully there will be no aftershocks. Fortunately, no damage occurred, the situation is safe, and we have not registered any casualties.”

Far away, in Limassol, 61-year-old French teacher Carol Bailey said: “We were in bed and woken up – it really went on for a long time.”

She said friends who live in the far west told her that it shook their building and made the lights flicker, while the inside of the fireplace was “making a noise like a horror movie.”

The Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center measured the earthquake’s magnitude at 6.5, at a depth of 51 kilometres.

Cyprus lies in a secondary earthquake-prone zone, but tremors of this magnitude are uncommon.

The largest earthquake in recent years with a magnitude of 6.8 was in 1996, killing two people in Paphos on the island’s west coast.

In 1953, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake killed 40 people and destroyed hundreds of homes, mostly in the Paphos region.

Read all the latest news, breaking news and coronavirus news here.

.

[ad_2]