By ELENA BECATOROS
February 3, 2014
Photo courtesy greece.greekreporter.com
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude between 5.7 and 6.1 hit the western Greek island of Kefalonia before dawn Monday, sending frightened residents into the streets just over a week after a similar quake damaged hundreds of buildings, reviving memories of a disaster in the 1950s.
Kefalonia Mayor Alexandros Parisis said the port at the island’s second largest town of Lixouri, the closest to the epicenter, had been damaged. Images from the area showed part of the pier breaking off and boats that had been on land for repair toppling over.
Earthquakes have been rattling Kefalonia constantly for the past week, after a 5.9-magnitude temblor struck the area on Jan. 26, damaging homes and slightly injuring seven people. Since then, thousands of residents have been spending nights with relatives or in ships sent to accommodate them.
Schools on the island have been shut for the past week, and had not been scheduled to reopen until Wednesday, said Deputy Mayor Evangelos Kekatos.
Authorities urged the islanders to remain calm and not approach any damaged buildings.