Tourists shaken to the core Several strong earthquakes on Greek vacation island

There have been almost 1000 earthquakes on and around the island of Crete this year. Many smaller earth tremors are not even noticed by people - but the three current quakes are.

The popular vacation island of Crete was shaken by an earthquake three times within half an hour this morning. According to the local media, people escaped with a fright and no one was injured.

According to information provided by the fire department and police, there was no damage either.

The quakes occurred south of the island at a depth of between three and five kilometers below the seabed and were reportedly felt as far away as the city of Heraklion on the north coast with magnitudes of 4.1, 4.8 and 4.5.

The islanders are aware of the strong activity of the earth in the region. "There is always a lot of activity there," a seismologist told the television station ERTNews. It is not yet possible to say whether the situation has calmed down after the three strong quakes, so we will have to wait and see.

According to statistics from the Athens Geodynamic Institute, there have been around 1,000 tremors in the region of Crete this year alone. However, there have only been just over a dozen quakes with a magnitude of 4 or more. Crete lies to the north of a deep tectonic rift where the African and Eurasian plates meet. This repeatedly causes earthquakes.

dpa