An uncharacteristically strong earthquake rocked much of southwest Greece on Sunday afternoon, with local seismologists pinpointing an intensity of 6.5 on the Richter scale, possibly the strongest quake in modern Greece's history. The earthquake was recorded at 3:26 p.m. (13.26 GMT) local time and was felt as far away as Athens, some 230 kilometers to the east of the epicentre.  
 
Two quake-related fatalities was reported in Achaia prefecture, with one 55-year-old man crushed under the weight of a collapsed roof in the village of Kato Achaia, along with more a dozen injuries in the immediate vicinity. A couple provincial roadways were also blocked off in the region from cracks in the pavement and from at least one landslide. Power outages were also reported throughout Achaia and Ileia prefectures. 
 
In the Ileia prefecture village of Fostena four members of an immigrant family were pulled from beneath the rubble of their collapsed stone residence. A total of 37 injuries were reported as a result of the tremor, with many of the injured sustaining fractures in their haste to exit swaying buildings. 
 
An hour after the quake, the head of Greece's Earthquake Risk Assessment Committee, Prof. Gerasimos Papadopoulos, speaking outside the Athens Observatory to several dozen reporters and television crews, said the earthquake was "shallow", occurring roughly 10 kilometres beneath the earth's surface and with an epicentre near the town of Andravida -- 30 kilometres southwest of the western port city of Patras in southwest Greece. The earthquake was the strongest to hit the area since 1802, according to reports. 
 
The quake also lasted between 20 to 25 seconds, according to the first eyewitness accounts, and was followed by a strong aftershock of 4.7 on the Richter scale, recorded at 3:55 p.m. (local time). 
 
At least one decades-old building was reported to have collapsed in Patras, with the majority of calls for assistance from the fire brigade coming from Ileia and Achaia (greater Patras) prefectures.  
 
A nationwide mobilisation of civil defence and fire brigade units commenced after the natural disaster.  
 
Finally, schools were also ordered closed on Monday in the affected areas. 
 
 
 
Karamanlis statement, first financial assistance 
 
 
 
In a statement from Vienna in the evening, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis emphasised that "our thoughts at this moment are with our fellow citizens who are affected (by this natural disaster). In expressing the grief of all of us over these developments and loss of life, I want to underline that the State will again stand by those in need ... I have already issued instructions to relevant ministers to initiate the same procedures that were followed last year after the devastating wildfires, so that anyone who lost their permanent residence is provided with initial financial assistance," the prime minister stated. 
 
In an earlier press conference, Interior & Public Administration Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos said authorities at all levels have been instructed to record damages, while announcing that the government will initially allocate 3,000 euros to eligible quake sufferers. 
 
Athens Mayor and Central Union of Municipalities and Communities of Greece (KEDKE) President Nikitas Kaklamanis later announced a 2,000 per eligible quake victim allocation on top of the central government assistance.

Caption: A quake-damaged home in the Kato Achaia community in the western Peloponnese, southern Greece, hours after a 6.5 on the Richter scale quake shook much of the east Mediterranean country in the eary afternoon. ANA-MPA / YIOTA KORBAKI.