A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 struck near the Greek island of Crete on Wednesday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), as reported by Reuters. The quake occurred at a depth of 83 kilometers and was widely felt across the eastern Mediterranean, including Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan.
Egypt’s National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics reported no casualties or property damage but recorded a separate 6.4 magnitude tremor approximately 431 kilometers off the country’s northern coast, according to DW.
In Greece, authorities issued a tsunami alert following a separate offshore 5.9 magnitude quake that struck 48 kilometers southeast of Kasos island. The Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection urged residents via the 112 Greece emergency service to "move away from the coast immediately" as a precaution.
Greece, located along major fault lines, frequently experiences seismic activity. Between January 26 and February 13, the University of Athens’ seismology lab recorded over 18,400 mostly minor quakes around the Cyclades islands. While these earlier tremors caused no serious damage, they raised concerns among local communities.
BNO News reported that Wednesday’s quake caused moderate shaking in parts of Crete, Kasos, and Karpathos, with lighter tremors felt across other Aegean islands and extending into southwestern Turkey. So far, no injuries or significant structural damage have been confirmed.
