The Greek capital Athens was rocked by a violent earthquake in the early morning hours on Tuesday.
The earthquake rumbled through the city, waking people up and rattling windows.
No significant damage has been reported.
According to officials the latest earthquake and its aftershocks were significantly stronger than usual.
Greece sits on two tectonic plates and is used to seismic activities. Today’s earthquake is as strong as it usually gets according to an official.
It occurred close to the surface, which could account for the stronger than usual subsequent aftershocks.
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The Daily Express reports:
The city has also been the scene of a recent political earthquake, with the country’s ultra-left wing ruling party Syriza mounting an increasingly tense stand-off with other EU countries over bail-out cash in return for spending cuts.
Seimsologists in Greece said the natural quake happened at 4.09am local time this morning and was centred on the island of Evia, about 50 miles north of the capital.
Greece’s Civil Protection Agency said police in the nearby city of Halkida and elsewhere in the surrounding region have so far reported no significant damage.
Efthimios Lekkas, director of the state-run Earthquake Planning and Protection Organisation, said: “It was an earthquake that occurred quite near the surface and was felt quite intensely in Athens — from an area where quakes are fairly common but rarely stronger than today’s event.
“There have already been two aftershocks after this earthquake. I don’t think there is any particular cause for concern.”
A Greek fire brigade official in Athens added: “It was certainly felt, but so far we have not received any calls for assistance.”
Greece and neighbouring Turkey straddle two tectonic plates separating Europe and Africa and are frequently hit by seismic activity.
In May last year a British tourist was amongst 324 people injured when a 6.4 magnitude earthquake rattled northern Greece.
The country’s worst disaster in recent times was in September 1999 when a quake measuring 6 on the Richter Scale happened just 10 miles from the centre of Athens.
More than 50,000 people were left homeless and 143 were killed in the catastrophe.
