A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of between 5.7 and 6.1 hit the western Greek island of Kefalonia before dawn on Monday, sending panicked residents into the streets just over a week after a similar quake damaged hundreds of buildings across the island.
Authorities said about 10 people had been slightly hurt, mainly by falling objects. Local residents reported damaged roads and cuts to the power and water supply in some areas.
Kefalonia Mayor Alexandros Parisis said the port at the island’s second largest town of Lixouri, the closest to the epicenter, had been damaged.
Earthquakes have been rattling the island constantly for the past week, after a 5.9-magnitude temblor struck the area on January 26, 2014 damaging homes and injuring seven people.
Schools on the island have been shut for the past week, and had not been scheduled to reopen until Wednesday, said Deputy Mayor Evangelos Kekatos.
Authorities urged the islanders to remain calm and not approach any buildings that appeared damaged.
“This is a critical time, people must be careful and remain calm,” said Deputy regional governor Antonis Kouris.
