The earth shook for less than a minute tonight, and yet the damage was considerable, especially on the island of Kos. The ceiling of a bar in the historic old town collapsed, killing two holidaymakers and injuring over 100, three of them seriously. Many houses were damaged and parts of an old mosque collapsed. Tourists and locals spent the night outside for fear of aftershocks and because of damage to houses. A smaller tidal wave as a result of the magnitude 6.7 quake flooded the harbours and beach area of the capital. In the old town harbour of Kos, there was severe damage to the quay wall and to some ships, mainly excursion boats. Relatively few yachts are moored there, most of them go to Kos Marina. Here is a photo gallery of the damage on the Greek website Kosnews 34.
"There was also damage to some boats and the marina facilities. But the exact extent still needs to be investigated," a Kos Marina employee told YACHT online. All owners of damaged boats will be informed immediately by the marina management. However, the harbour is not closed and boats can enter and leave. However, charter crews and owners should expect delays and must contact the marina shortly before entering the harbour, which is standard practice at Kos Marina anyway. The town harbour, on the other hand, remained closed for the time being today and ferry services have been temporarily suspended. Charter crews should contact their base before entering the harbour if they have not already contacted the sailors. New crews taking over the boats on Saturday should also be prepared for delays.
The quake also caused terror on the Turkish side of the Aegean. "Our house shook. It felt like it was made of rubber!" reported a German owner living in Bodrum. People left their homes. In some of the smaller fishing harbours, boats were shaken up; ships standing on land were damaged, but the consequences were marginal. There was minor damage on land, but no injuries or deaths.
The Turkish-Greek border region is one of the most active earthquake zones in Europe and is repeatedly hit by tremors. The island of Lesbos was hit just last spring.
