An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 occurred in the early hours of Sunday eighty kilometers southeast of Ierapetra, Crete, the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) reported.
The quake hit a shallow depth of ten kilometers at 6:04 am local time.
There have been no reports of damage although the quake was felt in south-eastern Crete.
The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations or as other agencies issue their reports.
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake hit the same area in early September.
2021 earthquake on Crete damaged hundreds of homes
Hundreds of homes and businesses were heavily damaged following the 5.8 earthquake that hit central Crete in September 2021.
The structures included homes, businesses, churches, public buildings, and schools in the municipalities of Minoa Pediada, Archanes-Asterousia, Iraklio, Malevizi, and Oropedio Lasithiou.
Hundreds of people in the affected region of Crete spent the last nights in tents and parks or slept in their cars in the wake of the earthquake, which struck the village of Arkalochori, killing one person and injuring at least twenty.
Greece lies in a highly seismically-active region. The vast majority of earthquakes cause no damage or injuries, however.
In October 2020, an earthquake that struck the eastern Greek Aegean island of Samos and the nearby Turkish coast killed two people on Samos and at least seventy-five people in Turkey.
The country is located in a complex geological boundary zone in the eastern Mediterranean between the African and Eurasian Plates.
The northern part of Greece lies on the Eurasian Plate while the southern part lies on the Aegean Sea Plate.
The Aegean Sea Plate is moving southwestward with respect to the Eurasian Plate at about thirty millimeters (one inch) per year while the African Plate is subducting northward beneath the Aegean Sea Plate at a rate of about forty millimeters (1.6 inches) per year.
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