Earthquake shakes Nicosia and Larnaca

An earth tremor, measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale, was recorded on Tuesday evening, at 22:55 local time (1955 GMT) .

According to the Geological Survey Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, chances of aftershocks are remote.

A Department press release says the epicenter of the quake was in Aradippou area, in Larnaca district, on the south, at a depth of 10 km. The tremor was felt in the Nicosia and Larnaca districts. There have been no reports of casualties or damage.

Seismologist Kyriacos Solomi of the Geological Survey Department told CNA today that, although nothing can be ruled out, it is not likely that there will be aftershocks, since no seismic activity has been reported after the initial earthquake.

However, the Department is continuously monitoring the situation, he said.

Solomi noted that the epicenter of the quake was on land and that is why it shook the capital, adding that it is considered to be a surface tremor, since the depth was only 10 km.

He furthermore pointed out that only a small number of quakes that shake Cyprus are on land.

”The epicenter of most quakes is usually in the sea area, mainly to the south and west of Cyprus,” where the African and Asian tectonic plates meet on the Cypriot arc, he said.

According to Solomi, Tuesday’s tremor was on the threshold of high intensity quakes, since low intensity ones reach 4.5 degrees on the Richter scale and anything above that is considered to be high intensity.

Asked if any damage had been reported, Solomi said that so far no damage had been reported. ”The quake has caused some alarm but no damage has been reported,” he pointed out.

The last earthquake to be recorded by the seismographs at the Geological Survey Department was on 26 July 2007. Its intensity was 4.4 degrees on the Richter scale and its epicenter in Klirou, in central Cyprus.