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Greece Earthquake: Very Strong Quake Hits, Tremors Felt In Cairo

Crete

04/ 1/11 10:53 AM ET   AP

ATHENS, Greece — A strong earthquake struck the southern Greek island of Crete Friday, rattling buildings as far away as Egypt and Turkey. Local police said they had no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 and struck off the southern coast of Crete at 4:29 p.m. (1329 GMT, 8:29 EDT), the Athens Geological Institute and the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany, said. The U.S. Geological Survey gave a slightly lower preliminary magnitude of 5.9. Magnitudes recorded by geological institutes often differ.

Police in Ierapetra, a town on the southern coast of Crete closest to the epicenter, said it was strongly felt but that they had no initial reports of damage or injuries.

The quake was felt as far away as Cairo across the Mediterranean Sea, and the Turkish news agency Anatolia said it also caused panic in the Turkish resorts of Bodrum, Fethiye and Marmaris.

"It was a strong earthquake in a region that is in the eastern section of area known as the Aegean Arc," said Manolis Skordilis, Associate Professor of Seismology at the University of Thessaloniki in northern Greece.

"This is a very seismically active area that has seen more powerful quakes in the past. We are monitoring the post-earthquake activity, which so far is not intense," he said.

Greece is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, but the thousands of quakes recorded each year rarely cause severe damage or fatalities.

In June 2008, a 6.5-magnitude quake struck near the western port city of Patras, about 120 miles west of Athens, killing two people, injuring more than 200 and damaging hundreds of buildings. In 1999, a magnitude 5.9 quake near Athens killed 143 people.

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ATHENS, Greece — A strong earthquake struck the southern Greek island of Crete Friday, rattling buildings as far away as Egypt and Turkey. Local police said they had no immediate reports of dama...
ATHENS, Greece — A strong earthquake struck the southern Greek island of Crete Friday, rattling buildings as far away as Egypt and Turkey. Local police said they had no immediate reports of dama...
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03:51 AM on 4/03/2011
As I read this at the top floor of my 1929 redbrick building in Los Angeles, I feel like sleeping in the park.
03:05 AM on 4/02/2011
As if the Mediterran­ean area needs more complicati­ons!! I have a strong feeling that this earthquake will be followed by numerous natural disasters this year!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Doctoress
02:04 AM on 4/02/2011
We also felt the tremmor here in Antalya, Turkey. It lasted for quite a few seconds. The chandellie­r in the room was moving for a few minutes. not a good feeling.
08:17 PM on 4/01/2011
The GOPhers are arranging evacuation­s saying We are all Cretins
06:58 PM on 4/01/2011
Must be global warming. Or maybe crooked Al has been eating to much take out and he's jumpinup and down cause everybody knows he's a fraud.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Greatest Darthfruit
So, you the brains of this outfit, or is he?
04:28 PM on 4/01/2011
its coming, its coming
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crayola 08b
i'm just a little crayon in a big box.
03:21 PM on 4/01/2011
i can't believe all the 2012 doomsdayer­s there are. so many end of the world dates have come and gone, so what's gonna be the new apocalypse year after 2012 passes without incident? i'm sure something like the ancient Ooga Boogas predicted the world would crack open like an egg in 2026 and giant fairy beetles will fly out and devour our young or something.
05:14 AM on 4/02/2011
I am betting on zombies...­..freakin love zombies.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ramkshrestha
Kapilvastu Day Movement
03:05 PM on 4/01/2011
We crossed just 3 months of the year and so many disaster and and kind of war news.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
sbrannon
thinker, photojournalist, humanitarian
02:44 PM on 4/01/2011
Dang, Greece is beautiful and what about the damage?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Lindstr7
brother can you paradigm?
02:52 PM on 4/01/2011
Very beautiful. I was in southern Crete in the 90s and the buildings there are low to the ground and look pretty solidly built. Not many tall buildings on Crete.
03:48 PM on 4/01/2011
The eartquake was away in the sea and there was no damage.
dela21
I was born a winner!!
02:42 PM on 4/01/2011
I don't know about anyone else, but I am starting to think that "2012" is a real deal.
02:48 PM on 4/01/2011
You havent seen nothing yet.Hang on we are in for one hell of a ride.
09:31 PM on 4/01/2011
rock on, Mother Earth!
02:28 PM on 4/01/2011
Oh, no-----poo­r Greece. .
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
GiantsFan44
My husband says "Happy wife, happy life"
02:21 PM on 4/01/2011
The quake in Japan was at least 70 times stronger.  If a quake of 7.0 is 30 to 40 times worse than a 6.0, then the 9.0 is close to 70 times stronger.  This was a baby quake in that respect although no quake that does  damage is insignific­ant.
02:26 PM on 4/01/2011
It is a logarithmi­c scale, each increase is ten times more intense than the previous. That is, a 7.0 is 10 times worse than a 6.0. If we round this up to a six, that means the 9.0 in Japan was 1000 times stronger. So yes, still a relatively baby quake.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
GiantsFan44
My husband says "Happy wife, happy life"
02:30 PM on 4/01/2011
Thanks for the correction­.  I am reading about the Crescent City Tsunami in 64 and he mentions the increasing force as the richter goes up and you are right.  He did say 1000 times stronger.
03:25 AM on 4/03/2011
Actually, it just means the earthquake is 10 times bigger, the energy, or strength of the eq, is this number squared, so a mag. 7 quake is 10 times bigger than a 6, but the energy in it is 100 times greater.
02:17 PM on 4/01/2011
2012 guys, telling you all now only.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
GiantsFan44
My husband says "Happy wife, happy life"
02:22 PM on 4/01/2011
The Mayans were very smart people way ahead of their time.  I want to say 2012 has been built up but the more happens, the harder it gets not to notice the date.
02:27 PM on 4/01/2011
why don't you just stick to being a giants fan? (rhetoric question)
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Shirley Fisk
Mom and Grandma
03:10 PM on 4/01/2011
4/1/11
3:16pm
Arlington, VA

If the Mayans were so smart then why are they all gone?
02:12 PM on 4/01/2011
These earthquake­s are surely making their rounds.
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sunbeltvoter
GOTP: God’s Own Talibangelical Party
02:09 PM on 4/01/2011
Q: Why was there an earthquake in Greece?

A. It must be Zorba's fault.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Chudye
03:42 PM on 4/01/2011
No. Don't ya know? It's Pres. Obama's fault.

But, I loved the movie "Zorba the Greek" ...wasn't Anthony fabulous? He had such beautiful children. And I don't believe any of them had any Greek genes; I know he didn't!