Greece Is Hit by Powerful 5.3 Magnitude Earthquake

Athens, Greece was hit by a strong magnitude 5.3 earthquake Friday afternoon.

According to ABC News, the Mediterranean Island’s capital city experienced the earthquake around 2 p.m. local time.

The Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center reports that the quake hit about 14 miles north of Athens and lasted for only a few seconds. 

Nonetheless, the quake caused people in the streets to run out of fear, left several areas in the city without power and knocked out phone lines across the city. Reportedly the local fire department was also called to help people trapped in elevators. 

According to the Associated Press, following the quake, authorities surveyed areas near the epicenter via helicopter for damages. Government Spokesperson Stelios Petsas shared that several abandoned buildings had been damaged as a result of the quake, one abandoned building in the western district even appears to have collapsed from the shake. No deaths or serious injuries have been immediately reported, however.

“There are no reports of serious injuries … I urge members of the public to remain calm, in Greece we are well acquainted with earthquakes,” Petsas said in a statement.

Senior seismologist at the Geodynamics Institute Gerasimos Papadopoulos noted that the Friday afternoon quake was felt across southern Greece. He also shared that this may not have been the “main…