“We were lucky in our misfortune”, is the phrase that best sums up Cretan feelings on the big 6.9 Richter earthquake which shook the whole island of Crete in January.
Our misfortune was that we felt the fury of Enceladus, the Titan of earthquakes, shaking our houses and damaging old buildings, especially in Western Crete where damage to 146 buildings was recorded. These include the old Town Hall of Chania, the third Venetian arsenal, 9 schools and many old houses in the Venetian town centre.
We were lucky, on the other hand, because the powerful earthquake, whose epicentre was between Kythera and Crete, took place deep under the seabed. This saved us from serious damage and even victims. Due to the deep epicentre and type of seismic wave, the earthquake was felt across Greece and a large part of the southeast Mediterranean.
Read more: Earthquakes in Crete