Update 15:44 UTC: One house in Kounopetra collapsed, luckily without affecting people.
An relatively large ash emission of the volcano Etna on Sicily (Italy) followed shortly after this quake was felt there. A connection of both events is possible.
Update 15:18 UTC: Also the neighbour island Zakynthos (south of Cephalonia) reports minor damage to buildings, mainly broken windows.
Update 15:04 UTC: The greek Secretary of Interior is going to visit the earthquake area later today.
Newspapers report that Lixouri is the most affected area. Many houses there suffered damage in diverse extent. No injuries or collapsed houses so far, but the quake also caused rockfalls and minor landslides in parts of the island!
Update 14:53 UTC: Power supply is interrupted in Fiskardo, located in northern Cephalonia. More damage reports coming in from different parts of the Island, so far “only” bricks falling from walls, cracks and other limited damage, but it seems that several buildings are affected. In Lixouri a hospice and some homes were demolished.
Update 14:48 UTC: Damaged buildings are reported from Lixouri, located only 6 km from the epicenter. No details about the damage are available yet.
Update 14:37 UTC: First reports mentioning cracked roads and a chaotic situation on Cephalonia. Most people were frightened by the earthquake and ran to the streets. Fire brigade and police are checking for possible damaged buildings and injuries.
Update 14:33 UTC: So far, 2 aftershocks with M 4.1 and 4.2 were registered. More are expected to follow. People on Cephalonia should be prepared for it.
Residents of Kefalonia are scared. This event reminded them about the great earthquake of 1953 (M 7.2), where hundreds of people lost their lives.
Update 14:29 UTC: The magnitude was revised to 5.8. A shallow depth of only 17 km is given by greek authorities. Quakes with this magnitude and shallow depth happening in populated locations can cause heavy damage, esspecially to buildings with poor construction.
Update 14:21 UTC: People report the shaking also from distant countries, like Albania, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Southern Italy.
A strong quake with magnitude 5.7 shook the greek island Cephalonia a few minutes ago. The shocks were also felt in Athens. The epicenter is located in the western part of the island. We expect some damage caused by this earthquake.
Nearby Cities
0km (0mi) NW of Lixourion, Greece
61km (38mi) NW of Zakynthos, Greece
87km (54mi) SSW of Preveza, Greece
89km (55mi) WSW of Mesolongi, Greece
289km (180mi) W of Athens, Greece
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link to earthquake-report.com]