Significant earthquake of magnitude 5.6 just reported 56 km south of Heraklion, Greece
5.6 quake 29 Dec 7:08 am (GMT +2)

An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 occurred only 13 minutes ago 56 km south of Heraklion, Greece, the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) reported.
The quake hit at a moderately shallow depth of 42.7 km beneath the epicenter near Heraklion, Crete, Greece, in the morning on Wednesday, December 29th, 2021, at 7:08 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 6.1 earthquake. A third agency, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), reported the same quake at magnitude 5.6.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Pýrgos (pop. 1,100) located 20 km from the epicenter, Mires (pop. 6,400) 33 km away, Arkalochori (pop. 3,500) 38 km away, Arkalochori (pop. 3,500) 38 km away, Tympaki (pop. 5,300) 41 km away, Gazi (pop. 12,600) 56 km away, Heraklion (pop. 137,200) 56 km away, and Néa Alikarnassos (pop. 12,900) 57 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Rethymnon (pop. 32,500) located 83 km from the epicenter.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: Dec 29, 2021 7:08 am (GMT +2) local time (29 Dec 2021 05:08 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.6
Depth: 42.7 km
Epicenterlatitude / longitude: 34.83°N / 25.11°E (Eastern Mediterranean, Greece)
Primary data source: NOA
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/169327/Significant-earthquake-of-magnitude-56-just-reported-56-km-south-of-Heraklion-Greece.html