Strong quake strikes eastern Aegean

A large earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale struck off the eastern Aegean island of Samos on Friday, sending reverberations that were felt all the way in the Greek capital, nearly 300 kilometers away, the National Observatory of Athens’ (NOA) Geodynamic Institute reported.

The quake struck at 1.51 p.m. local time, just 19 kilometers north-northeast of the island’s capital, at a depth of 10 kilometers, the NOA said, revising its preliminary reading of the quake's magniture to 6.7 from 6.6 Richter.

Local media on Samos are reporting damage to buildings and the road network, while reports are also coming in from nearby Turkey suggesting that several buildings have collapsed in the seaside town of Izmir.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC), meanwhile, has given the earthquake a magnitude of 7 Richter.