Mum and daughter 'petrified' as huge earthquake starts cracking apart their home
A mum has told how she was left "petrified" when a massive magnitude six earthquake struck her home, shaking the property so hard that it tore plaster from the walls.
Multiple tremors hit the border of Turkey and Greece on Monday night, with the largest, a massive 6.2 magnitude, striking between the Dodecanese Islands and Turkish west coast. A following 5.8 magnitude shock caused chaos in the area, with dozens of people seen jumping over the balconies of their hotels after they were shaken awake just after 2.30am. One person, a 14-year-old girl, died in the panic, with 69 injured and many other locals and holidaymakers telling of the intense experience.
Among those affected the most by the tremors was a mum living in Armutalan, a Turkish town roughly 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) outside the earthquake epicentre.
The anonymous parent submitted a report on the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre saying she was asleep in bed with her daughter at the time it hit, adding she was left "petrified" when the earthquake started breaking apart her home and dashed glass on the floor. She added it "went on for a very long time and was very strong".
The mum said: "I was asleep in bed with my daughter, the whole bed started shaking the lights were flashing on and off. Glass smashed, plaster from the wall everywhere, big cracks. I'm petrified. [It] went on for a very long time and was very strong."
Dozens of other people responded with similar stories on the earthquake reporting site, with another holidaymaker staying in Turkey saying she was awakened to "the whole room shaking". They added: "The whole hotel was up and into the lobby." Another user from Bozburun said that, while it didn't last long for them, the tremors made a massive ruckus outside their home.
They said the "tremble was for 15 seconds or so", adding: "It was like a buldozer was working outside the house." And another user added: "The shaking sound was severe and the cabinet door sounds increased. I had trouble keeping my balance."
While the initial earthquakes have now passed, dozens of aftershocks have continued to surge across Greece and Turkey in the nearly 12 hours since. The more recent earthquakes have ranged from a magnitude 1.2 to 3.2, and seismologists are not particularly worried about any potential danger.
Speaking to state-run Greek broadcaster ERT News, Efthimios Lekkas said the tremors only felt widespread as they struck at a significant depth, around 69 kilometres.
This, combined with the waves it produced, he added, were not enough to cause extensive damage on the surface. He said: "We are in no way worried about these earthquakes. This one was intense due to its depth, it covers a larger surface area, but the seismic waves do not have the energy they should have to see damage on the surface."
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