Earthquake in Zakynthos: a Greek island shaken by 6.4 quakes

A powerful magnitude 6.4 earthquake was felt south of Zakynthos Island in western Greece.

Nobody was injured by the earthquake that struck Friday at 01:54 (22:54 GMT), but the port and a 13th-century monastery south of Zakynthos were damaged.

A series of aftershocks was felt in the hours following the earthquake and local schools were closed for the day.

The earthquake hit 50 km southwest of Zakynthos, in the Ionian Sea.

Hundreds of locals spent most of the night outside on the streets, under the effect of new violent shocks.

"Everything was visibly upset, the table, the wardrobe and the beds were bouncing," said British holidaymaker Joanna Jones of Liverpool, who was living with her family in a hotel in Alykanas, north of the island.

"It felt like it had lasted five minutes, but in reality it was only 10 seconds, the pool was swaying everywhere and the shelves were all in stores."

While the Greek Institute of Geodynamics measured the biggest quake at 6.4 km with a depth of 10 km, the European EMSC earthquake agency announced a force of 6.8 and observed small changes in sea level.

The residents have also left their homes in the city of Patras, on the west coast of Greece, reporters said.

The medieval monastery of Strofades, located on a small island near the epicenter of the earthquake, was seriously damaged, but reports that it was destroyed have not been confirmed. Images published on Greek social media show the damage done to the tower of the monastery.

The most significant shock was felt until Naples, in western Italy, Albania, Libya and the capital, Athens.

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Zante, also known as Zante, was hit by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in 1953, destroying most of the island's buildings. Since then, all the buildings have been fortified to protect against new tremors. The region is located on major fault lines and tremors are relatively common but rarely fatal.

"Zante has earthquake-proof protection, there are only cracks in the houses and minor landslides," said Mayor Pavlos Kolokotsas.

However, images on Friday social media showed a wide crack in the soil of the island's port.