Schools closed on eastern Greek island of Lesbos after overnight earthquake

ATHENS, Greece — Authorities on the eastern Greek island of Lesbos ordered schools in part of the island to close on Wednesday so they can be inspected for potential structural damage after an overnight earthquake rattled the island.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 struck just after 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Athens Geodynamic Center said. Its epicenter was located at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) east northeast of Mithymna on Lesbos, between the island and the nearby Turkish coast.

The quake did not cause any injuries or serious damage, but local authorities reported several small rock slides on local roads.

Greece lies in a highly seismically active region, but the vast majority of earthquakes cause no injuries and little or no damage. A 6.3 quake that struck Lesbos in June 2017 killed one person and injured another 10. In 2020, a 7.0 quake near the Greek island of Samos killed dozens of people in nearby Izmir, Turkey, and two in Samos.