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A 5.3 magnitude earthquake on Saturday jolted the Greek Orthodox religious enclave of Mount Athos in northern Greece, the Geodynamic Institute of Athens said.
The undersea earthquake occurred shortly before 4 p.m. local time, with the epicenter located nine kilometers north-west of Karyes, the main town of the monastic community in the Halkidiki peninsula. It had a depth of just 2.5 kilometers (7.7 miles).
The tremor was felt in the surrounding areas and several aftershocks followed, with seismologists and authorities monitoring the situation.
“We are well, people should not be worried,” Mount Athos Governor Alkiviadis Stefanis told state broadcaster ERT.
One man visiting a monastery was taken to a hospital with a hand injury after running and falling. Stefanis said. No other injuries were reported.
A fire department source in Athens told AFP news agency that the area’s four fire engines had been sent out in search of possible damage.
The tremor dislodged plaster and damaged chimneys at some monasteries, Stefanis said.
Grigoris Tasios, head of the Halkidiki hoteliers association, told ERT the earthquake had not affected tourist infrastructure. Halkidiki is one of Greece’s most popular tourist destinations, with many locals from nearby Thessaloniki also visiting, especially during the summer months.
Seismologist Kostas Papazachos told news portal NewsIt that the Halkidiki peninsula had seen a “steady” seismic activity in the past months. A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit Mount Athos in February.
Known as the Holy Mountain in Greece, Mount Athos has around 20 inhabited monasteries, some of which are over 1,000 years old.
The earthquake at Mount Athos comes shortly after Greece experienced a day of seismic activity on June 3, with a powerful 5.8 magnitude earthquake striking near Rhodes in the early hours of the morning, followed by a separate 5.3 magnitude tremor south of Crete later in the day.
Experts had emphasized that despite the temporal proximity, the two events were not connected.
At 2:17 AM on Tuesday, June 3, a significant 5.8 magnitude earthquake sent shockwaves through the Greek island of Rhodes and Turkey’s western coast, particularly affecting the town of Marmaris. The tremor, characterized by its long duration and intensity, resulted in widespread alarm, prompting many residents to evacuate their homes.
On Rhodes, fearful residents were jolted from their beds. Locals described the earthquake as unprecedented in its intensity and duration, though residents reportedly faced the event with composure. The Rhodes Fire Department conducted overnight checks across the city, and while no serious injuries were reported on the island, there were instances of minor infrastructure damage.
Later in the day, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter scale struck Crete. According to the Geodynamic Institute, this tremor had a focal depth of over 5.5 miles (9.2 km), and its epicenter was located over 8.5 miles (14 km) off Chrysi, Lassithi, in the sea.
Efthymios Lekkas reiterated that the Crete earthquake is an independent event, telling NewsIt.gr:
“It is an independent process, it has no connection to the previous ones. It is not connected either to the earthquakes in Arkalochori three days ago, or to Rhodes, or to other events. There is no need for any concern; its epicenter is south of Ierapetra.”
Greece experiences an average of 25,000 earthquakes per year and it’s one of Europe’s most earthquake-prone countries.
