strong 7.0 earthquake in Greece and tsunami in Turkey

Just a few minutes ago, an earthquake of extreme magnitude occurred just a few kilometers from the city of Néon Karlovásion in Greece. According to preliminary analyzes, the tremor appears to have reached a magnitude of 7.0 at a depth of just 10 kilometers, inland, near the Eastern Sporadic Islands.

Near the epicenter there are cities with thousands of inhabitants, such as Samos, which has about 33,000 inhabitants, or Néon Karlovásion with around ten thousand, considering its metropolitan area.

Since the earthquake occurred, at around 12:30 pm, Portuguese time, an enormous amount of videos and photographs of the damage caused have been published. In Samos, numerous damage is being reported to historic properties and buildings, such as the Karlovasi church. Impressive testimonies are also being reported from Turkey, especially from the city of Izmir, where some buildings collapsed.

The earthquake caused a small tsunami with flooding in Izmir. The information is not yet confirmed, but several testimonies show the withdrawal from the sea before the arrival of the wave, which dragged many boats to the port of the Turkish city and invaded some streets.

According to the Greek media, the quake was felt even in Athens, 300 kilometers away. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had to postpone his press conference on COVID-19 to focus on the consequences of the earthquake, which appears to have caused serious effects in Izmir, next to the Aegean Sea.

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