April 19, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Earthquake in Crete: 2500 tents for the victims

1 dead and 20 injured, thousands of people homeless, 45 out of 85 schools damaged this is a tragic account of the earthquake in Crete

Setting up tents for those who are unable to return to their homes affected by strong earthquake force 6 points on the Richter scale, which occurred Monday morning in Arkalohori, Crete, said the Minister for Climate Crises and Civil Protection Christ Stylianidis, who urgently flew to the island today.

Mr Stylianidis said that together with the mayor, governor and the entire local government team, they decided to set up tents that could accommodate 2,500 people to accommodate all people who should not enter their homes due to the danger of collapse.

One of the main reasons for this decision was the ongoing seismic activity in the region. In particular, after the main shock, in the area near Arkalohori, more than 30 tremors have already occurred. Of these, with a magnitude over 4 points, there were 7 aftershocks, and the strongest of them was an earthquake that occurred at 14:02, with a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale.

According to the minister, it is known so far about 20 wounded, five of whom were taken to the hospital “Venizelio” with fractures or multiple injuries. The rest received primary care and were sent home.

As we reported earlier, the only one who died was 62 year old villager Arkalohori, with severe damage to homes, buildings and infrastructure.

A citizen of the village of Pacideros was rescued and trapped inside his home as he could not open the door due to the damage caused by the earthquake.

Six out of ten homes were hit by an earthquake

In the Arkalohori area, buildings and infrastructure have been severely damaged. Specifically, an estimated 60% of houses in the city of 8,000 were damaged.

Of the 85 schools, 45 have cracks.

According to cretalive, specialists will conduct analyzes first in schools, then in the city hall and clinic, and then in residential buildings.

At the meeting, it was said that 20-30 villages have big problems, many of which make it impossible for people to live in them. As for the city of Arkalohori, its old part has been destroyed, and the new one has practically not suffered.

Schools will remain closed tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and a question mark will appear on other services. “Of the 85 schools that were answered, 45 have cracks,” said regional education director M. Beladakis, to which the minister replied that no student or teacher would enter them until they were checked.

To date, many damage to buildings in the villages of Russochoria, Archontiko and Pasideros has been recorded at the fire brigade center. Firefighters are already in the area, and the entire state machinery has been mobilized.

Σεισμός στην Κρήτη – Σακελλαροπούλου: Οι σκέψεις μας είναι με τους πληγέντες https://t.co/f8U4cV8kWF # Ant1news @PresidencyGR # σεισμος # Κρητη pic.twitter.com/F0dn199XBN

– Ant1news.gr (@AntennaNews) September 27, 2021

Schools in Heraklion are closing

According to Deputy Regional Minister of Education Efi Kutentaki, schools at all levels in the Heraklion Regional Office will be closed tomorrow and the day after tomorrow to carry out the necessary checks after the earthquake.

Meanwhile, as explained earlier in the day in a related announcement by the Chania Primary Education Authority, schools in Chania are closed as a precautionary measure today, as parents have already been notified to pick up their children from schools.

Akis Tselentis, director of the Athens Geodynamic Institute, advised local residents to exercise caution and vigilance, noting that “we can have collapses even during small earthquakes.” A little earlier, in a conversation with SKAI, Mr. Celentis gave an example of a 20-year-old house of his friend, in which it is now dangerous to live, as it is damaged. “The house may have some probability of collapse, it would be good to avoid this until the engineer comes,” he stressed.

In fact, for the entire Heraklion area, he explained that “people have to be careful when they walk the streets,” because any of the aftershocks that occur could cause the building to collapse.

Leccas: the seismic event continues

For his part, OASP President Efthymis Leccas said: “We are dealing with a kind of consistency. We all thought that we were worsening, but, unfortunately, we could not predict natural phenomena, and we were again refuted. We have a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in the southern part of the fault. The earthquake was unexpected, which greatly affected the buildings, and of course there were many aftershocks. I don’t think we can estimate the seismic sequence yet. Aftershocks with a strength of 4.3 – 4.6 and 4.8 points continue. In the evening, at 10:00, the seismic risk assessment committee will meet again, and there we will see, with all the scientific data, where and how this phenomenon occurs. This is a very peculiar phenomenon. “

Papadopoulos: The strength of the earthquake has been increased to 6 on the Richter scale.

According to seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos, the earthquake was increased from 5.8 to 6 on the Richter scale. “All international centers are now assigning a score of 6 to this earthquake,” he says in his Facebook post, pointing out the need for immediate inspection of buildings, especially critical ones (such as schools), and emphasizing that tremors are expected, some of which are expected … and they can be even stronger.





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