Schools closed following quake in rare spot

Authorities have ordered school closures following a magnitude 4.8 earthquake that struck an area in southern Greece where seismic activity is rare.

The quake, east of the island of Evia, occurred at 6.32 a.m. Tuesday, 58 kilometers (36 miles) northeast of Athens and was felt in the Greek capital, but caused no injuries and only minor damage to homes near the offshore epicenter, civil protection authorities said.

The one-day school closures were in effect in the south of the island.

Earthquakes are common in Greece and neighboring Turkey, but not off the eastern coast of Evia.

“We have no data on fault lines in that area,” Efthymios Lekkas, a professor of applied geology and disaster management at the University of Athens, told state-run television.

“We have been following the pattern of seismic activity that occurred before and after that event, with the second most powerful shock recorded at magnitude 4.4.” [AP]