British tourists in Rhodes have described ‘the whole airport shaking’ in the wake of a 4.8-magnitude earthquake that hit the Greek island on Wednesday night.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the epicentre was detected in the Aegean Sea around 67 km (41 miles) southwest of the island, which is a popular holiday destination for many Brits.
People on the island would have felt the rupture, even though it is believed that structures were not severely damaged because the earthquake only had a magnitude of 4.8.
However, holidaymakers in several locations across the island took to X, formerly Twitter, to share how they witnessed the tremor.
One user shared how they had felt the ‘whole airport shaking, prompting concerns from fellow travellers who had jetted away to other parts of the island.
They continued: ‘Yeah like the whole airport shook so quick outta nowhere, the walls and floor shaking. It felt weird and crazy’.
Another said: ‘Just felt it in Rhodes in our hotel room’.
A third joked: ‘Near Faliraki. The table was shaking on our hotel balcony. Thought I’d had a few too many’.
A further comment read: ‘Felt it in Gennadi! right down south!!’
Another individual on holiday said that they had felt the quake in Lindos.
The Greek media claimed that the tremor was also felt in Turkey, although the EMSC stated that adjacent towns including Gennadi, Lardos, Archangelos, and the island’s capital, Rhodes, may have felt mild shaking.
A spokesperson for the EMSC said: ‘Our monitoring service identified a second report from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.9 as well.
‘Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.’
The Greek island is prone to earthquakes; in January 2023, a strong 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Rhodes.
That earthquake was so strong that it caused vibrations to be felt in Egypt and Lebanon.
The earthquake, with a depth of 16 miles, struck in the Aegean Sea about 36 miles southeast of Lindos.
It was also felt in Crete and Cyprus, as well as in the adjacent Turkish provinces of Mugla, Izmir, and Antalya.
Amorgos, in the Cyclades archipelago, was struck by the greatest earthquake in Greek history in 1956. The earthquake, which registered a 7.7 on the Richter scale, caused several structures to be demolished on the island.
Europe’s most earthquake-prone nation is Greece. There are frequent earthquakes and tremors; they are unpleasant, but I presume the locals are accustomed to them.
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