Earthquake leaves one dead on Greek island

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A resident walks past the damaged Greek Orthodox chapel in Arcalochori village of Crete, Greece. Associated Press/ Photo by Harry Nikos

Earthquake leaves one dead on Greek island

The preliminary 5.8-magnitude earthquake rattled the island of Crete early on Monday, with an epicenter 153 miles south southeast of the Greek capital city of Athens. Reuters reported one man died when the dome of a church collapsed during an ongoing renovation in the town of Arkalochori. Nine other people sustained injuries.

What was the impact? In the city of Heraklion, people ran into the streets, and authorities ordered school evacuations. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center recorded at least nine aftershocks, two of the strongest at 4.6-magnitude. The Greek fire department deployed 30 members of its disaster response units with specialized rescue equipment to the island.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archive, read my Sift report on a 2017 earthquake that hit Greece and Turkey.

Onize Ohikere

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks