(ANSA-AFP) - ATHENS, SEP 28 - Aftershocks rattled Greece's
largest island Crete on Tuesday, a day after a strong earthquake
that killed one person, damaged hundreds of buildings and left
many homeless. The strongest tremor was measured at 5.3
magnitude at 7:48 a.m. (0448 GMT), the Athens observatory said,
as Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis prepared to visit
the area. Crete is Mitsotakis' home island. A preliminary
inspection has shown around a thousand buildings were damaged in
Monday's quake, which struck at a depth of just 10 kilometres
(6.2 miles). The epicentre was near the agricultural town of
Arkalochori, where a man was killed inside a church that
collapsed and nearly a dozen other people were injured. "It was
a very difficult night, we had many aftershocks... we were awake
all night," Arkalochori community head Chryssoula Kegeroglou
told ERT state radio. Authorities have put up tents to host
hundreds of people whose homes are deemed unsafe to return to at
present, and have also made dozens of hotel rooms available.
Kegeroglou said around a thousand people spent the night in
tents in the outlying area. Greece is located on a number of
fault lines, and is sporadically hit by earthquakes. The last
deadly quake in the country occurred on March 3 in the central
town of Elassona, killing one person, injuring 10 and causing
major damage. (ANSA-AFP).
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