ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Thousands of people in central Greece spent late Wednesday outdoors after a powerful earthquake shook the entire region, damaging homes and public buildings because they were afraid to return to their homes.
The magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred near the central city of Larissa. One man was injured by falling debris, but no serious injuries were reported.
Officials reported structural damage, mainly to old homes and buildings that saw walls collapse or burst. One of them was a primary school, built in 1938 with stones, in the town of Damasi where the earthquake was hit.
“The teachers kept them calm and the pupils stayed at the emergency exercise, and everyone recovered,” the school principal, Grigoris Letsios, said during a video call with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “The building will now be condemned … We need a new school.”
The military set up tents and dining tables at a nearby soccer field while local officials urged people to stay outside their homes until they could be inspected. A series of powerful aftershocks of up to 5.2 kept many residents on edge.
‘Have you seen trees move when the wind blows? That’s how the houses moved, ”said Damasi resident Vangelis Mouseris.
I stood still like a statue. I was wondering whose house would fall? The neighbor’s house? My house? I have never felt anything like this. ”
According to the Athodian Geodynamic Institute, the quake struck at 12:16 (1015 GMT) and was felt in neighboring Albania and northern Macedonia, and as far north as Kosovo and Montenegro.
According to officials from the two neighboring countries – who have been local rivals for years – Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, to convey solidarity and offer assistance if necessary.
Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka also called Dendias for support.
In Athens, seismologist Vassilis Karastathis told reporters the quake struck in a fault line in the area that has historically not been much larger than Wednesday. He said the activity after the earthquake seems normal so far, but experts are monitoring the situation.
“The earthquake had an estimated depth of just 8 kilometers (5 miles) and that was one of the reasons why it was felt so strongly in the region,” said Karastathis, who is the deputy director of the Athens Geodynamic Institute. .
The head of Greece’s army was in the earthquake-stricken area to help emergency services, and firefighting helicopters were used before the evening to assess damage to the building around the central Greek towns of Tyrnavos, Elasona and elsewhere near the epicenter.
The fire department said it received several calls on Wednesday to deal with medical emergencies, which helped patients with various chronic conditions gain access to the hospital, which has already been affected by the pandemic.
Greece lies in a very seismically active region. The vast majority of earthquakes cause no damage or injuries, many of which occur under the sea.
Last October, an earthquake struck the eastern Greek island of Samos and the nearby Turkish coast, killing two high school students on Samos and killing at least 75 people in Turkey. In 1999, 143 people were killed by an earthquake near Athens.
___ Elena Becatoros and Theodora Tongas in Athens, Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey contributed. ___
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