A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck Crete, Greece’s largest island, on Monday morning and killed at least one person while injuring several others and damaging buildings.
The 65-year-old man who died was working on renovations inside a church whose roof caved in due to the quake in the village of Arkalochori, which sustained significant damages.
Some buildings were reduced to piles of rubble and Greek officials advised people living in affected buildings to stay outside.
Authorities set up nearly 2,500 tents to accommodate residents who cannot yet return to their homes, Greek climate crisis and civil protection minister Christos Stylianidis told ANT1 news.
Stylianidis declared a state of emergency in the Iraklion region where schools, businesses and other buildings were evacuated.
“This is not an event that occurred without warning,” seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos told Greek broadcaster ERT. “We have seen activity in this region for several months. This was a strong earthquake, it was not under sea but under land and affecting populated areas.”
Greece sits on active fault lines and earthquakes are fairly common in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Watch a Reuters video report
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