HERAKLION, Greece -- A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck near the Greek island of Crete on Monday morning, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC).

The quake struck at about 08:15 CEST some 20 kilometers south of the port city of Heraklion.

The island was then rocked by four other smaller earthquakes, the biggest registering at 4.6 and striking about 20 minutes after the first one, the EMSC said.

It added that aftershocks could continue to be felt "in the next hours/days."

Residents of the city of Heraklion rushed out into the streets. Local media in Crete reported some damage, mainly with collapsing walls of old stone buildings in villages near the epicentre of the temblor on the eastern part of the island. Children were evacuated from schools.

Heraklion mayor Vassilis Lambrinos told Greek Skai television that there were no immediate reports from emergency services of any injuries or severe damage. He said schools were all evacuated and were to be checked for structural damage.

The region is no stranger to earthquakes. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake in the Aegean Sea on October 31, 2020, killed 37 people in the Turkish coastal city of Izmir and two children on the Greek island of Samos. -- Euronews