No casualties or damage have been reported so far. 6.6 magnitude earthquake The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued.

The USGS said the quake struck at 3:07 a.m. local time or 2:07 a.m. French time, at a depth of 19.6 kilometers, 48 ​​kilometers from the police city. According to the company’s initial estimates, the risk of casualties or damage from the shock is low.

The quake was felt strongly by people in many places across Cyprus. In the capital, Nicosia, 130 kilometers from the quake, a handful of residents took to the streets at midnight. “It was scary. The whole building shook endlessly. I thought it would never end, ”Nicosia-based agency Agency France-Presse said.

“We were in bed It woke us up, Which lasted a very long time, “said Carol Bailey, a resident of Pinnacle, near the southern city of Limasol.

The island is located in an area with intense seismic activity

The Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (CSEM) estimated the magnitude of the quake at 6.5 and the depth at 51 kilometers.

Cyprus is located in an area of ​​intense seismic activity that borders the Eurasian tectonic plateau with the African plateau, but Earthquakes of such power are rare there.

On October 9, 1996, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake killed at least two people and damaged dozens of buildings in the coastal cities of Paphos and Limasol. Forty years ago, on September 10, 1953, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake killed at least 40 people and destroyed hundreds of homes, especially in the Paphos region.

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