Strong M6.2 Earthquake hit in the Aegean Sea near Irákleion (Greece) on Thursday Morning.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on May 22nd, 2025. Last updated June 17th, 2025.

In the Aegean Sea 89 kilometer from Irákleion, Greece, a strong M6.2 earthquake occurred in the early morning of Thursday May 22nd, 2025. Earthquakes like this can cause significant economic damage and have a significant risk at casualties. Another nearby country is Türkiye.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Aegean Sea, 62 kilometers (39 mi) off the coast of Greece, 89 kilometer north-east of Irákleion in Crete. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 64 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	May 22, 2025 06:19 (Athens Time) - May 22, 2025 03:19 Universal Time.
Location:	89 km NE of Irákleion, Crete, Greece. Coordinates 35°52'49"N 25°51'23"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.2 Detected by 75 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.036 .
Depth:	64 km (40 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Significant impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

Several homes and buildings damaged; landslides reported in the Heraklion area. A small tsunami with a maximum wave height of 5 cm was recorded at Irakleio.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 48% likelyhood of between 1 and 10 fatalities, and a 99% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 100.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 35% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 92% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls between 1 and 10,000 million USD.

Roughly 2.1 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 2.1 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VII, which corresponds with very strong shaking and likely moderate damage. Roughly 98,870 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level IV was experienced by a large group of people (around 1 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. Roughly 1 million people were exposed to shaking in Greece , with level VII (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage) as the highest recorded. In Türkiye , around 1.1 million people.

Nearby towns and cities

Greece and Türkiye are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.

Irákleion in Crete, Greece is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 89 kilometer (55 mi) north-east of Irákleion. Irákleion experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly VII. That level implies very strong shaking and likely moderate damage.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. İzmir is located 304 km to the north-northeast (intensity unknown, possibly low). Athens is located 301 km to the northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Irákleion is located 89 km to the southwest and experienced an intensity of VII (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 808 people in 10 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 808 people have reported shaking in 166 places in 10 countries (Cyprus, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Réthimnon, Rethímni, Greece: 41 people.
• Iráklion, Iráklion, Greece: 37 people.
• Thíra, Kikládes, Greece: 23 people.
• Falirákion, Dodekánisos, Greece: 23 people.
• Khanía, Haniá, Greece: 22 people.
• Lárdos, Dodekánisos, Greece: 21 people.
• Mesariá, Kikládes, Greece: 21 people.
• Káto Goúvai, Iráklion, Greece: 19 people.
• Gázion, Iráklion, Greece: 19 people.
• Skhísma, Lasíthi, Greece: 18 people.

37 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 37 smaller aftershocks. Just 16 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.8 was detected 20 km (12 mi) south of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 10 smaller foreshocks occurred. A 3.4 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

This is the strongest earthquake in 4 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since October 12th, 2021, when a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit 85 km (53 mi) further south-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 7 earthquake struck on October 30th, 2020.

In total, 4 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.2 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 years.

Low tsunami risk

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 17/06/25 01:08 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000q0pq
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250522_0000028
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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