Strong quake rattles Greek island of Rhodes, Turkish coast

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 struck off the southeastern Greek island of Rhodes Wednesday, according to the Athens Geodynamic Institute. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake was also felt in the nearby Turkish provinces of Mugla, Izmir and Antalya, with Turkey’s AFAD emergency management agency saying it had a preliminary magnitude of 5.4. It is common for different seismological institutes to record variations in magnitude in the initial hours and days after a quake.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in Turkey either, although the earthquake caused panic in Mugla province, HaberTurk television said, with residents rushing out of buildings.

The undersea quake struck at 2:37 p.m. Greek time (1237 GMT), and had an epicenter nearly 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Athens and 58 kilometers southeast of the Rhodes town of Lindos, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said.

Greece and Turkey lie in a highly seismically active region. and experience hundreds of earthquakes each year. The vast majority cause no injuries or damage.

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