At least two people were killed and dozens hurt early Friday when the Greek island of Kos was shaken by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake, Mayor George Kyritsis told CNN Greece.
The quake’s epicenter was just 16.2 kilometers (10.1 miles) east-northeast of Kos in the sea between Greece and Turkey, the US Geological Survey said.
About 200,000 people in Greece and Turkey felt strong to very strong shaking, the USGS estimated. Video from Kos shows rubble in the streets and shops trashed.
The epicenter was close to the Turkish port city of Bodrum, a seaside resort popular with overseas tourists and Turks alike. It is also a major transit point for migrants and refugees trying to reach Europe.
A video posted to Instagram by Firuz Anl? shows people in Bodrum experiencing the temblor. The party was celebrating a birthday on a seaside patio, when the lights appear to go out and several centimeters of water spill onto deck.
CNN Senior International Correspondent Arwa Damon, who was staying in a village about half an hour away from Bodrum, said that she felt the quake strike at around 1.30 a.m. local time (8.30 p.m. ET) and lasted for about ten seconds.
At least a dozen aftershocks over the next three hours shook the area following the initial quake, she said.
Preliminary reports suggest no loss of life in Turkey, she said.
There were no immediate reports of death in the area, the Bodrum Municipality tweeted.
Damon added that there were no reports of collapsed buildings, although she did see some families camped outdoors, fearful of buildings weakened by the quake and possible, subsequent aftershocks.
A hospital was reportedly evacuated, Damon said, as its mezzanine was damaged.
Bodrum Mayor Mehmet Kocadon, speaking to Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu, said one road collapsed and some boats were damaged as the lines holding the boats snapped due to the waves.
Turkey is no stranger to earthquakes, with smaller ones taking place in the country on a regular basis. This one, however, was jarring “not only because of the intensity of it but also because the aftershocks went on for so long,” Damon said.
Bodrum is about 700 kilometers (435 miles) from Istanbul and also from Ankara.
A quake with a magnitude of between 6.0 and 6.9 is classified as “strong.”
According to the USGS, there were at least six aftershocks of magnitude 4.0 or greater.
CNN meteorologist Karen Maginess said that the tremblor, which occurred at a relatively shallow depth of 10 km (6 miles), is considered a major earthquake.
Aftershocks will continue for weeks, maybe months, she said.