A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 shook Greece today, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said, and was felt as far away as in the Middle East. There were no initial reports of any injuries.
The quake's epicentre was located about 125 miles south of Athens near the island of Kythira, the geodynamic institute said, amending its previous report of a magnitude of 6.4.
The earthquake occurred at 1.34pm and was felt as far away as in Cairo, Egypt, about 745 miles southeast of the epicentre, as well as in Amman in Jordan.
The US Geological Survey, based in Colorado, and the National Earthquake Information Center in Denver gave a preliminary magnitude of 6.7, while the University of Thessaloniki, which also has a geodynamic institute, reported the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.9. The reason for the discrepancies in magnitude was not immediately clear.
Initial reports from authorities in Greece indicated there had been minor damage at the airport in Kythira and in buildings on the southern island of Crete.
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