Earthquake in Greece; no reports of casualties

ATHENS (AFP) Apr 12, 2003
An earthquake measuring five points on the open-ended Richter scale shook the region around the Greek city of Argolide in the northeast of the Peleponnese peninsula, the Athens observatory said on Saturday.

Local authorities said there were no victims or material damage from the earthquake, which took place early Saturday morning, and was also felt in the cities of Nauplion, Tolos and Tripolis.

The earthquake was recorded at 2.55 am local time (2355 GMT) and its epicentre was some 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the capital Athens, according to the Greek observatory.

The earthquake follows several similar events in southern Europe over the past week.

Two people were injured on Friday in northern Italy, close to the Italian city of Turin, when the area was hit by an earthquake measuring 4.6 points on the Richter scale.

On Thursday the Turkish city of Izmir was shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.6 points on the Richter scale, causing several injuries and panic amongst local inhabitants.

SPACE.WIRE