Strong earthquake hits western Greek island, 10 lightly injured

Ten people were lightly injured early Monday when an earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale hit the western Greek island of Cephalonia, according to the Athens Geodynamic Institute. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was measured 6.1 on the Richter scale. The port in Lixouri, the island's second largest town, and a local hospital suffered minor damages, said Cephalonia Mayor Alexis Parissis, adding emergency crews were assessing the impact of the latest tremor on buildings and infrastructure. Greek seismologists located the tremor's epicenter in the same area that was jolted by a 5.8-Richter scale quake on Jan. 26, with seven people slightly injured. Over the past week, Cephalonia has been struck with dozens of aftershocks and more than 1,000 residents can not return to their homes and are offered shelter on ferries docked in the port. Scientists and authorities will remain on alert for a few more days due to the seismic activity and the island's seismic history. After Monday's quake, as aftershocks continue, seismologists appeared "more relieved" about the progress of the seismic activity in the Ionian Sea. According to experts, the pattern shows that the possibilities of a larger quake are decreasing. In 1953, Cephalonia and its nearby island of Zakynthos were hit by a 7.2-magnitude quake and strong aftershocks that caused hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries and extensive material damage.