A car is buried in debris after an earthquake in Kata Achaia, about 240km west of Athens June 8, 2008. Two quake-related fatalities and 37 injuries were reported in a strong earthquake measuring a magnetite of 6.5 which rocked much of southwest Greece on Sunday.
The earthquake was recorded at 3:25 p.m. local time (1325 GMT) and was felt as far away as capital Athens, some 230 kilometers to the east of the epicenter.
According to Athens News Agency, a couple of provincial roadways were blocked off in the region from cracks in the pavement and from at least one landslide. Power outages were also reported throughout Achaia and Ileia prefectures.
According to Professor Gerasimos Papadopoulos, head of Greece's Earthquake Risk Assessment Committee, the earthquake was "shallow", occurring roughly 10 kilometers beneath the earth's surface and with an epicenter near the town of Andravida, 30 kilometers southwest of the western port city of Patras in southwest Greece. The earthquake was the strongest to hit the area since 1802, according to reports.
The quake lasted between 20 to 25 seconds, according to the first eyewitness accounts, and was followed by a strong aftershock of 4.7 on the Richter scale, recorded at 3:55 p.m. local time (1355 GMT) on Sunday.
A nationwide mobilization of civil defense and fire brigade units commenced after the natural disaster. Schools were also ordered closed on Monday in the affected areas.
A motorcyclist rides past a destroyed house after a strong earthquake hit Kato Achaia village some 250Km west of Athens June 8, 2008.
Rescuers set up tents on a soccer field to host homeless villagers at Kato Achaia June 8, 2008.
Firemen shovel debris from a destroyed house after a strong earthquake hit Kato Achaia village, some 250km (155 miles) west of Athens June 8, 2008. Source: Xinhua
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