NICOSIA, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- A strong earthquake registering 5.3 on the Richter scale struck Cyprus on Wednesday, causing some damage but no injuries, authorities said.
The Geological Survey Department reported that the tremor occurred at about 11:31 a.m. local time, with its epicenter located roughly 20 kilometers northeast of the western tourist city of Paphos, at a depth of 15 kilometers.
Christodoulos Hadjigeorgiou, director of the department, said that continuous seismic activity was recorded more than two hours later, but he considered the initial tremor to be the main shock.
The jolt was felt across Cyprus and in Lebanon, approximately 300 kilometers east of the epicenter.
Civil Protection authorities reported that some houses in a village near the epicenter were damaged, but no injuries occurred. Telecommunications were temporarily disrupted, and several rocks fell from hills onto the highway leading to Paphos and other roads.
Cyprus is located in the eastern Mediterranean along the Cyprus Arc, at the boundary between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. In 1953, a strong earthquake struck Paphos, measuring about M6.5, killing approximately 40 people, injuring around 100, and destroying multiple villages. In recent decades, Cyprus and its offshore areas have continued to experience moderate to strong earthquakes. ■
