The earthquake that hit Cyprus at 11.30am, registered 5.3 on the Richter scale, director of the geological survey department Christodoulos Hadjigeorgiou said on Wednesday.

According to Hadjigeorgiou, the earthquake had a focal depth of 15 kilometres and its epicentre was located in the village of Ayia Marina Kelokedaron in the Paphos area.

He said there had been several aftershocks exceeding magnitude 3 on the Richter scale, which are currently being monitored by his department’s seismological centre.

Hadjigeorgiou added that another 48 hours of monitoring were needed to determine if there would be any more earthquakes.

Civil defence spokesman Panayiotis Liasides said his department hat staff and volunteers remained on standby to intervene if necessary.

He urged the public to remain calm and avoid panic, adding that in the event of an earthquake, people are advised to remain in the building until the earthquake has ended, exit carefully via the stairway, avoid using elevators due to possible power outages, and gather in an open area in a safe distance from power lines, tall trees, and high buildings.

Meanwhile, Paphos district governor Charalambos Pittokopitis said that the earthquake had caused rocks to fall on the Paphos-Tsada road.

“I noticed it almost immediately when it started. I was working, sitting at my desk, and things started shaking. Stacked plates in cupboards started rattling, the light fixture above began swaying back and forth and continued swaying for minutes after,” a Limassol reader told the Cyprus Mail.

Staff at SAT-7’s Nicosia headquarters were among those who felt the tremor.
The Christian media network’s offices in Strovolos were evacuated within minutes as a precaution.

“It felt pretty strong – the whole building moved for several seconds,” a member of staff told the Cyprus Mail.

SAT-7 later confirmed that no damage had been reported to the building, and normal operations are expected to resume once safety checks are complete.  

“We evacuated straight away, and thankfully everyone is fine. There was some concern about possible aftershocks, so we waited outside until it felt safe to return.”