Quake hits southern Cyprus

A quake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale jolted the southern part of Cyprus causing panic but no damage or injury, the eastern Mediterranean island's Geological Survey Department said on Tuesday. Eleni Morisseau, the department's director, said the epicenter of the quake was located on land 20 kilometers north of the port city of Limassol at a depth of 15 kilometers. The quake hit at 19:29 local time (16:29 GMT). "We believe this was the main quake 13 more jolts of a diminishing intensity followed in a very short sequence," Morisseau said. Civil Defense authorities said that they received no reports of damage but many people in Limassol dashed out in the streets in panic. Cyprus lies in a particularly active seismic region often experiencing light to moderate quakes. A strong shock of 5.8 magnitude hit Limassol on December 28, 2014, causing minor damage. Several destructive quakes struck Cyprus in the past, the most recent destructive one happened in 1953. The magnitude 6 quake destroyed several villages in the western part of the island, leaving 40 dead and more than 100 injured. An even stronger quake of 6.5 magnitude hit in 1996 and was felt all over the island, causing widespread damage in Limassol and causing two deaths.