ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Fearing to return to their homes, thousands of people in central Greece spent the night outside in late Wednesday after a powerful earthquake in the region damaged homes and public buildings.
The shallow magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 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 houses and buildings where walls were collapsing or cracking. One of them was a primary school built in 1938 in the earthquake-stricken village of Damasi, where 63 students took classes.
“The teachers kept a cool head and the students adhered to the emergency drill, and everyone turned out well,” said Rector Grigoris Letsios during a video call with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “The building will now be rejected … We need a new school.”
The military set up tents and meal counters on 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 magnitude kept many residents on their toes.
Have you seen how trees move when the wind blows? That’s how the houses moved, ”said Damasi resident Vangelis Mouseris.
‘I stood still like a statue. I wondered whose house would fall? The neighbor’s house? My house? I’ve never felt anything like it. “
The earthquake struck at 12:16 p.m. (1015 GMT), according to the Athens Geodynamic Institute, and was also felt in neighboring Albania and North Macedonia, and as far north as Kosovo and Montenegro.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, to show solidarity and provide assistance when needed, officials from the two neighboring countries – which have long been regional rivals – said.
Albania’s foreign minister, Olta Xhacka, also called Dendias to show his support.
In Athens, seismologist Vassilis Karastathis told reporters that the earthquake originated in a fault line in the area that historically did not produce temblors of much greater size than Wednesday’s. He said activity after the earthquake seemed normal so far, but experts were keeping an eye on the situation.
“The earthquake had an estimated depth of only 8 kilometers (5 miles) and that was one of the reasons it was so strongly felt in the region,” said Karastathis, the assistant director of the Athens Geodynamic Institute.
The head of the Greek forces was in the earthquake-hit area to assist emergency services, and fire helicopters were used before nightfall to repair the damage to buildings around the central Greek cities of Tyrnavos, Elasona and elsewhere near it. epicenter.
The fire brigade said it received multiple calls on Wednesday to resolve medical emergencies and help patients with various chronic conditions access the hospital, already affected by the pandemic.
Greece is in a very seismically active area. The vast majority of earthquakes do not cause any damage or injuries, often occurring underwater.
Last October, two high school students in Samos and at least 75 people in Turkey were killed in an earthquake that hit the eastern Greek Aegean island of Samos and the nearby Turkish coast. In 1999, an earthquake near Athens killed 143 people.
___ Elena Becatoros and Theodora Tongas in Athens, Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed.
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