NATURAL DISASTER

Greece's Crete Island jolted with 6.3 magnitude earthquake

Minor damage, landslides reported but no casualties, according to media reports

The coast guard is on heightened alert in the event of a tsunami. Illustration

H. J. I. / AA

A magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck at 12.24 p.m. Tuesday on the Greek island of Crete, according to the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens.

The epicenter was recorded 23 kilometers (14 miles) east of Zakros village in the region of Lasithi, at a depth of 8.2 kilometers (5 miles).

Authorities said an emergency plan for the management of an earthquake, known as Enceladus, was activated, ordered by Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Christos Stylianides.

The coast guard is on heightened alert in the event of a tsunami.

Minor damage and landslides on roads near Sitia have been reported while a church collapsed in the village Xerokambos.

No reported injuries have been filed.

The island was hit with a magnitude-5.8. quake just weeks ago.