Earthquake Rocks Mount Athos

Simonopetra Monastery, Mount Athos. Source: Wikipedia

KARYES — An earthquake struck Mount Athos on Saturday at 12 p.m. EEST.

The Geodynamic Institute of Athens (GIE) released a statement saying the tremor registered at 5.3 on the Richter scale and occurred at a depth of 12.5 kilometers. The area was also affected by an aftershock with a magnitude of 3.8.

“We are well, people should not be worried,” Alkiviadis Stefanis, the civil administrator of Mount Athos, told Greek state media.

The earthquake did not affect tourist infrastructure, according to Grigoris Tasios, head of the Halkidiki Hotels Association

According to Stefanis, only one injury was reported. A man injured his hand after falling.

The Hellenic Fire Department is patrolling the Holy Mountain looking for damaged property or injured persons.

So far, only minor property damage has been reported.

Several smaller quakes affected other parts of northern Greece.

Mount Athos is home to 20 monasteries in addition to many smaller hermitages. It is widely considered the spiritual center of Orthodoxy.

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