Quake hits northern Greece; no damage, injuries

Screengrab from https://earthquake.usgs.gov

THESSALONIKI, Greece— Seismologists say an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 has struck the northern Greek region of Halkidiki, rattling the area but causing no damage or injuries.

The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the quake struck Friday morning, 89 kilometers (55 miles) south of the country’s second-largest city of Thessaloniki, and 271 kilometers (135 miles) north of Athens.

Greece is in a highly seismically active part of the world, but the vast majority of earthquakes do not cause severe damage or casualties. In January and February, two quakes with magnitudes of about 6 struck the western Greek island of Kefalonia, damaging buildings and leaving many homeless for weeks, but causing no serious injuries.