(19 Jul 2019) A strong earthquake centred northwest of Athens shook Greece on Friday, causing frightened residents to run into the capital's streets and damaging several buildings. Authorities said no serious injuries were reported.
The Athens Institute of Geodynamics gave the earthquake that struck at 2:13 p.m. local time (1113 GMT) a preliminary magnitude of 5.1.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude of 5.3.
Firefighters checked for people trapped in elevators amid power outages after the brief but jolting quake.
In central Athens, the Acropolis Museum was evacuated and closed for the rest of the day as a precaution, but the city's ancient monuments remained open.
Police patrols and helicopters were deployed to inspect areas close to the earthquake's epicentre near the town of Magoula.
Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said an abandoned building collapsed in western Athens and several other abandoned buildings elsewhere in the city had serious damage.
The most powerful quake to hit the Greek capital in the last 20 years came in 1999, when a temblor of magnitude 6.0 caused extensive damage and killed more than 140 people.
Find out more about AP Archive:
Twitter:
Facebook:
Google+:
Tumblr:
Instagram:
You can license this story through AP Archive:
0 Comments