One person is dead and at least 20 have been injured in a strong earthquake that struck the Greek island of Crete on Monday morning. Greece’s climate crisis and civil protection ministry confirmed the death of a man who had been completing church renovations in the town of Arkalochori, and was crushed when the dome caved in.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported that a 6.0 magnitude quake struck at 9.17 am with an epicentre 16 miles south south east of the city of Heraklion and a depth of 6.2 miles. At least nine aftershocks have also struck the area, with the strongest one registering a magnitude of 4.6.
Hotels and schools near the epicentre have been evacuated as local media reported that a number of older buildings had suffered structural damage.
Sarah Williams-Long, a doctor at King’s Hospital in London who had been staying at the Creta Maris beach resort with her partner and three-year-old son when the earthquake struck, told The Independent that she had been evacuated in case of a second earthquake.
She said: “It was terrifying. Initially there was just a very slight rumble, like waiting for a train underground, but it quickly increased causing the building to shake,” adding that many people took shelter under tables before the building was evacuated.
