Greece orders villages evacuated in quake-hit area
Pastor Dale Morgan
Greece orders villages evacuated in quake-hit area*
By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS
The Associated Press
Monday, June 9, 2008; 3:34 PM
ATHENS, Greece -- Authorities evacuated three villages in southwestern
Greece on Monday after seismologists warned that a strong aftershock was
expected in areas where a powerful earthquake killed two people and
injured more than 200.
The quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, struck Sunday
afternoon near the western port city of Patras, about 120 miles west of
Athens.
It flattened or severely damaged about 200 houses in the provinces of
Ahaia and Ilia and left more than 800 buildings with lighter damage and
cracks, state NET television said. The quake also damaged the air
traffic control tower at a military airport.
By late Monday, 230 people had sought medical treatment for injuries
suffered during the quake, NET television said. More than 20 remained
hospitalized.
Dozens of aftershocks had rattled the area, although all were relatively
small, with preliminary magnitudes below 4.7, the Athens Geodynamic
Institute said. But "the next two to three 24-hour periods remain
critical," said Giorgos Stavrakakis, the institute's head.
A strong aftershock of a magnitude of 5 to 5.5 was expected in the
coming days or possibly weeks, seismologist Giannis Kalogeras said.
"That is based on our experience of the region," he said.
Authorities started evacuating people from three villages for fear of
rockfalls set off by aftershocks.
In the small mountain village of Santomeri, one of those ordered
evacuated, farmer Nikos Dimopoulos' house was demolished by a 13-foot
boulder that crashed down the hillside.
"I have nowhere to stay," said Dimopoulos, 72, who was tending his sheep
when the quake struck. "I'll spend the night in my stable."
Tents were put up for those left homeless but few were used, with most
people taking refuge with friends and family whose houses had not been
damaged, officials said. Schools were closed, and authorities appealed
to people not to return to damaged homes because of the danger of
aftershocks.
Officials said a preliminary survey showed the major archaeological site
of Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the ancient Olympics, was undamaged.
In the small museum of Ancient Elis, near the epicenter, 50 ancient
vases and two stone inscriptions were damaged, the Culture Ministry said.
The government pledged up to $20,000 to those whose homes sustained
severe damage and said it would pay to rebuild houses that were
destroyed. The announcements came after an emergency Cabinet meeting in
Athens presided over by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis
Much of the afflicted zone was at the heart of devastating forest fires
last August killed 66 people and burned hundreds of homes.
The Patras area is one of the most earthquake-prone in Greece, which is
among the world's most seismically active regions. In 1999, a magnitude
5.9 quake near Athens killed 143 people.
___
Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Athens and Petros Karadjias
in Santomeri contributed to this report