An earthquake of 6.4 magnitude was detected in the Mediterranean Sea 48 miles (80 km) west of Chania on the Greek island of Crete at 1311 GMT on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said.
Israelis have also reported to experiencing the quake, mainly in locations in the center and south of Israel.
Related stories:
- 4.9-mag earthquake felt in Eilat region
- Major earthquake hits Iran, at least 40 killed
- Quake hits near Iran's nuclear city Bushehr, 30 dead
Mira, from Ramat Gan, said: "I live on the ninth floor. The chair was swinging. I have a closet with little glass objects and it started humming. It was scary for a moment; happily it went on for no more than 15 seconds. The dog looked at me amazed, not realizing what was going on.
Maxim lives in the third floor in Petah Tikva and felt the quake: "The first quake was felt very strongly for three or four seconds and then it weakened and went on for about 15 more seconds. I saw my computer screens moving back and forth at the time."
Yehuda and Yehudit Aloni from Petah Tikva also said they felt the quake in their apartment on the fourth floor. "We woke up and felt like the bed was moving," they said. "It went on for a few seconds."
Police and firefighting forces in Crete didn't report any wounded or significant damage. But the media in Greece showed pictures of frightened citizens escaping their home and adding that car and school alarms were set off after the event. In the hour since the quake, three more aftershocks were felt in the island, in a lower magnitude.
Greece is often rocked by earthquakes. Most cause no serious damage but a 5.9 magnitude quake in 1999 killed 143 people.
Yaon Druckman, Yulia Fortus, Matan Tzuri contributed to this report
- Receive Ynetnews updates
directly to your desktop