Greece hit by 5.0 magnitude earthquake

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit central Greece early Sunday, but there were no early reports of damage or casualties.

The tremor struck at 1:02 am and had an epicentre 12.7 kilometres (8 miles) below sea level in the Gulf of Corinth, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) west-northwest of the capital, the Athens Institute of Geodynamics reported.

#Earthquake (#σεισμός) possibly felt 53 sec ago in #Greece. Felt it? Tell us via:
📱https://t.co/LBaVNdVFgz
🌐https://t.co/AXvOM7qtuH
🖥https://t.co/wPtMW5w1CT
⚠ Automatic crowdsourced detection, not seismically verified yet. More info soon! pic.twitter.com/ehvPDXhFjq

— EMSC (@LastQuake) October 8, 2022

The tremor lasted at least 15 seconds and was felt over a large area. Near the sparsely populated epicentre, residents reported hearing a buzzing sound, according to local media.

Tremors of this magnitude are common in Greece, which lies in a highly earthquake-prone area, north of where the African plate is pushing underneath the Eurasian plate.