2 dead, hundreds injured following devastating earthquake near Greece, Turkey
A magnitude-6.7 quake struck 6 miles south of the Turkish city of Bodrum and 10 miles from the Greek island of Kos. At least two people were killed, hundreds injured. This video shows tourists and workers panicking when the quake shook a Turkish holiday resort.
A 6.7 magnitude earthquake rattled Turkey’s Aegean Coast and several Greek islands, killing two and injuring hundreds more early Friday morning.
Officials say the deaths happened on the Greek island of Kos, where the island's mayor Giorgos Kyritsis said that buildings sustained structural damage.
A man walks near a damaged building after an earthquake on the Greek island of Kos early Friday, July 21, 2017. A powerful earthquake struck Greek islands and Turkey's Aegean coast early Friday morning, damaging buildings and a port and killing people, authorities said. (Kalymnos-news.gr via AP)
Other officials said an old building on the island collapsed, injuring people below.
The quake struck at about 1:30 a.m. local time. USGS measured the earthquake at 6.7 magnitude, but Greece officials measured it at 6.5 magnitude. The earthquake was very shallow as it originated only 10 km (6.2 miles) below the earth's surface. On Saturday evening, an aftershock of magnitude 5.0 occurred just 7 km (4.3 miles) northeast of Kos.
Turkish officials said a ship was sent to Kos to evacuate 200 Turkish tourists stranded on the island.
Kos and several of the nearby towns, including Turkey's Bodrum and Datc, are all major tourist destinations.
The Guardian said that about 360 people in Bodrum were injuries, many while jumping from windows during the earthquake. No deaths were reported. However, several buildings along the coast cracked.
The European earthquake agency EMSC reported a small tsunami along the Turkish coast.
<center><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Ä°Åte tsunami gerçeÄi burada herÅey çok daha net <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/deprem?src=hash">#deprem</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bodrum?src=hash">#bodrum</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dat%C3%A7a?src=hash">#datça</a> <a href="https://t.co/46wgqVlBCi">pic.twitter.com/46wgqVlBCi</a></p>— â´ï¸Ersan Smyrnaâ´ï¸ (@ersan_smyrna) <a href="https://twitter.com/ersan_smyrna/status/888192044065280001">July 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<center><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Deprem?src=hash">#Deprem</a> Anında <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bodrum?src=hash">#Bodrum</a> Devlet Hastanesi Acil Servisinden Görüntüler! GeçmiÅ olsun ðð»ðð»ðð» <a href="https://t.co/Q5PxIQ8HxH">pic.twitter.com/Q5PxIQ8HxH</a></p>— Serdar Ä°mren (@serdarimrenn) <a href="https://twitter.com/serdarimrenn/status/888180284797190145">July 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
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As residents in Kos look to clean up the damage following the earthquake and continue to search for survivors, dry weather is expected for the Aegean Coast early this week. Temperatures remain above normal with a high around 36 C (97 F) on Monday, so those out in the heat of the day should dress appropriately for the heat and stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
Cooler weather will build over the region from Tuesday into Saturday bringing relief from the recent heat.
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