The eastern Mediterranean Sea experienced a violent earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale, with the epicenter located 26 kilometers from the Greek island of Rhodes.
The earthquake occurred at 2:17 am local time, triggering a wave of additional tremors in several surrounding countries.
The earthquake’s effects extended to nine countries in the region:
- Greece, where the epicenter was near the island of Rhodes, which experienced strong tremors that caused panic among local residents and visitors.
- Turkey, which lies on an active seismic fault line, felt a strong tremor in its western regions near the Aegean Sea.
- Egypt, particularly in the North Coast and Cairo, where residents reported minor tremors that raised concerns, but no casualties were reported.
- Bulgaria, Cyprus, Libya, and Syria, where specific cities and regions were affected by the earthquake, particularly coastal and mountainous areas near the epicenter.
- The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where minor tremors were reported in some northern areas.
- The UK, where some residents in the southeastern regions reported feeling a mild tremor, a rare but possible occurrence given the widespread distribution of seismic energy.
The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the Eastern Mediterranean region, known as one of the most seismically active areas in the world.
The region is home to several major tectonic plates, including the African Plate, which is moving northward toward the Eurasian Plate, and the Anatolian Plate, which is influenced by the movement of the Eurasian Plate from the north.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
