Rhodes earthquake: British holidaymakers describe ‘the whole airport shaking’ as 4.8 magnitude earthquake hits Greece
- An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale struck the popular Greek island on Wednesday night
British tourists in Rhodes have described ‘the whole airport shaking’ in the aftermath of a 4.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the Greek island on Wednesday evening.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC), the epicenter was discovered in the Aegean Sea, about 67 kilometers southwest of the island, a popular holiday destination for many Britons.
Because the earthquake only had a magnitude of 4.8, it is believed that the rupture did not cause serious damage to buildings, but would have been felt by people on the island.
However, holidaymakers at a number of locations on the island told X, formerly Twitter, how they witnessed the quake.
One user shared how they had felt the entire airport shaking, causing concern among fellow travelers who had left for other parts of the island.
A location map shows Rhodes β the largest of the Greek islands in the Dodecanese β and nearby Karpathos
A file image shows the popular seaside resort of St Paul’s Bay
They continued, βYes, like the entire airport shook so quickly out of nowhere, with the walls and floor shaking. It felt strange and crazy’.
Another said: ‘I just felt it in Rhodes in our hotel room’.
A third joked: ‘Near Faliraki. Table was shaking on our hotel balcony. I thought I’d had a few too many.’
Another comment read: ‘Felt it in Gennadi! all the way south!!’
Another person who was on vacation said they felt the earthquake in Lindos.
The EMSC said nearby towns such as Gennadi, Lardos, Archangelos and the island’s capital of the same name, Rhodes, were possibly experiencing weak shaking, while Greek media reported the quake was also felt in Turkey.
An EMSC spokesperson said: ‘Our monitoring service has identified a second report from the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ), which also stated the earthquake had a magnitude of 4.9.
“Based on preliminary seismic data, the earthquake should not have caused significant damage, but was likely felt by many people as mild tremors in the vicinity of the epicenter.”
Earthquakes are not uncommon on the Greek island, with a powerful 5.9 magnitude earthquake hitting Rhodes in January 2023.
The strength of that earthquake was so great that the tremors were felt as far away as Egypt and Lebanon.
Holidaymakers at a number of locations on the island told X, formerly Twitter, how they witnessed the earthquake.
The earthquake, with a depth of 26 kilometers, occurred in the Aegean Sea, about 58 kilometers southeast of Lindos.
It was also felt in the nearby Turkish provinces of Mugla, Izmir and Antalya, as well as in Crete and Cyprus.
The largest earthquake in Greek history struck Amorgos, located in the Cyclades archipelago, in 1956, measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale and destroying several buildings on the island.
As a result of the disaster, which also led to a tsunami, 53 people died and another 100 were injured.