A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.2 hit near the north coast of Crete, Greece, at 03:19 UTC (06:19 local time) on May 22, 2025. The agency is reporting a depth of 64 km (40 miles). EMSC measured it as M6.1 at a depth of 75 km (47 miles).

An M6.2 earthquake hit near the coast of Crete, Greece, on May 22 and was followed by several moderate aftershocks.

The earthquake occurred approximately 110 km (68 miles) north-northwest of the M6.0 event recorded on May 13.

More broadly, this activity follows an intense seismic swarm reported earlier this year near the volcanic island of Santorini.

The epicenter was located 62 km (39 miles) NNE of Eloúnda (population 2 193), 70.2 km (44 miles) N of Ágios Nikólaos (population 11 421), and 84 km (52.2 mi) NE of Irákleion (population 137 154), Crete, Greece.

193 000 people are estimated to have felt moderate shaking, 740 000 light, and 598 000 weak.

The mainshock was preceded by an M2.5 earthquake at 08:49 UTC on May 21 and followed by several aftershocks, including M3.5 at 03:24 UTC on May 22, M3.1 at 03:34 UTC, another M3.5 at 04:19 UTC, and M3.1 at 04:27 UTC.

All of them occurred at depths between 50 and 65 km (31 – 40 miles), except for M3.5 at 03:24, which was recorded at a shallow depth of 5 km (3.1 miles).

There have been no immediate reports of injuries or damage, but the tremor was felt across Crete and nearby islands.

The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake-resistant construction. The predominant vulnerable building types are adobe block and dressed stone/block masonry construction.

Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides that might have contributed to losses.

The earthquake follows an M6.0 event that occurred at 22:51 UTC on May 13, at a depth of 74 km (46 miles), approximately 110 km (68 miles) south-southeast of the M6.2 epicenter recorded today.

Greek authorities issued a precautionary tsunami warning for southern coasts, especially Kásos, Karpathos, and parts of southern Crete, following the May 13 earthquake, and alerted residents through emergency systems to stay away from beaches and low-lying coastal areas.

The quake was felt widely across the eastern Mediterranean, including in Israel, especially in Tel Aviv, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan.

Both earthquakes follow months of elevated seismic activity across southern Greece and the nearby Aegean islands, with more than 20 000 earthquakes recorded in the region surrounding Santorini and Amorgos.

Santorini is a volcanic island, one of the most famous and geologically significant in the world. It is part of the Hellenic Volcanic Arc in the southern Aegean Sea and forms the caldera of a massive volcano that erupted in the Late Bronze Age (~1600 BCE). That eruption, known as the Minoan eruption, was one of the largest volcanic events in human history and likely contributed to the decline of the Minoan civilization on Crete.

Today, the volcano remains active, with its most recent eruptive phase occurring from 1939 to 1941, and frequent seismic swarms or phreatic activity being recorded around Nea Kameni, the central volcanic islet inside the caldera.