M6.1 earthquake near Irákleion, Crete

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 63 km N of Sitia, Greece on 30 Jul 1956, 09:15 UTC at a depth of 15 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Irákleion, about 100 km away in Crete, Greece.