A person was killed, and many people were wounded on the Greek island of Crete on Monday when an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of at least 5.8 hit the area surrounding the country's fourth-largest city. Homes and churches were damaged, and rockfalls occurred in the area near the town.

Due to the earthquake, residents of Heraklion were forced to flee onto the streets, and schools were shuttered. Aftershocks continued to rumble across the region, compounding the devastation in communities close to the epicenter.

Where actually the earthquake strikes

According to the Athens Geodynamic Institute, the earthquake, which occurred at 9:17 a.m. local time and had a magnitude of 5.8, struck at a depth of 66 kilometers. According to the report, the earthquake's epicenter was 14 miles northwest of the coastal town of Arvi in southeastern Crete, at a depth of six miles, and that many felt it across the region.

It has been confirmed that rescue officials removed the dead man from a church in the region of Arkalochori, which is situated south of Heraklion, the island's capital. He had been working on the chapel's restorations at the time.

In a statement, local authorities said that they had enough tents to accommodate 300 people temporarily.

Greece was hit by an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8

According to information from local authorities, Greek officials said that one person had died and nine others had been injured. More information regarding the circumstances surrounding the death and injuries were not immediately available.

The fire department said it would be flying 30 members of its disaster response units to Crete with sniffer dogs and specialist rescue equipment.

They also had placed all of the island's disaster response units and fire department services on high alert.

An initial magnitude of 6.0 was reported by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center and the United States Geological Survey, with the epicenter located 4 miles north of the hamlet of Thrapsano. According to the Athens Geodynamic Institute, it was 5.8.

The early hours and days after an earthquake are notoriously challenging to predict since various seismological institutions offer varied magnitude estimates.

Some buildings, especially older ones, have suffered significant damage, and schools have been closed for the day due to the quake. Officials from the government are on the ground to assess the extent of the damage.

Following the incident, the Greek Fire Service issued a statement saying that they promptly mobilized its personnel in the neighborhood and conducted patrols across the surrounding area.

An abundance of aftershocks hit the region, with the EMSC reporting a preliminary magnitude of 4.6 for the two most powerful ones.

Impact of Earthquake on hotels

The earthquake hampered neither international nor domestic flights into Heraklion airport. The region's hoteliers association said that no significant damage had been done to any of the region's hotels, including several well-known tourist sites, due to the quake.

According to statistics from the European Union, Crete is the biggest and most populated of all the Greek islands, with a total population of more than 634,000 people.