By Eleni Sakellis and Michalis Kakias
NEW YORK – News of the earthquake that rocked Kos in the early hours of July 21, thanks to social media, spread quickly around the world. Thoughts and prayers went out almost immediately to those affected by the 6.7 magnitude quake whose epicenter was off the coast of Turkey and the Greek islands.
Relatives and friends on the island of Kos were soon checking in to say they were safe on Facebook. Fr. Andreas Vithoulkas, of the Church of the Holy Resurrection in Brookville, Long Island, vacationing with his family in the town of Kefalos on the island posted, “We are all safe. Thank you all for your prayers!” Kefalos is on the opposite side of the island from the main town which sustained the most damage.
Kos-natives living abroad and those with relatives and friends on the island passed an agonizing night wondering if their loved ones, who had not posted their status on social media, were safe and praying that the worst was over in terms of aftershocks and the threat of a possible tsunami.
Photographs and video soon poured into social media outlets showing the damage to older buildings in Kos town and some flooding around the 14th century castle. Tourists slept outdoors fearing aftershocks.
Greek officials said the quake was 6.5-magnitude and the numerous aftershocks were weaker but still could put at risk the buildings that were already damaged. The epicenter was 6 miles (10 kilometers) south of Bodrum, Turkey, and 10 miles (16 kilometers) east-northeast of Kos with a depth of 6 miles (10 kilometers). Two tourists were killed when a wall collapsed on them and over 200 injuries have been reported.
“The damage on the island (of Kos) is not widespread. The airport is working, and the road network and infrastructure are in good shape,” Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said as the Associated Press reported.
“The damage was at the bar and the old part of the town and we had the very unfortunate deaths of the two people.”
The collapsed building dated to the 1930s, according to Kos Mayor Giorgos Kyritsis. “There are not many old buildings left on Kos. Nearly all the structures on the island have been built under the new codes to withstand earthquakes,” the mayor said.
Rescuers were checking for trapped people inside houses across Kos at dozens of villages and other sites, but said the damage was confined to the island’s main town.
The main reaction from Kos-natives living in New York was the hope that everyone was safe and that the damage was not too severe. One noted, “Buildings can be replaced, people cannot.”
The National Herald contacted the President of the Koakos Syllogo Hippocrates, Zacharias Fesaras, who said that at present there are no Greek victims of the earthquake.
He told TNH, “I’m in constant telephone contact with expatriate residents of New York who are visiting the island of Kos for vacation and with those I have spoken to, fortunately all are in good health, although they are in a state of shock. They went to Kos for vacation to rest and unfortunately were faced with such a natural disaster.”
Fesaras continued, “I contacted the villages of Mastichari and Pyli where we have many expatriates and they told me that there is a lot of material damage to store goods and cracks in many homes, but fortunately without anyone being injured.”
Calls and Facebook messages by TNH to relatives and friends in other villages on the island including many in Kefalos and Kardamena have confirmed that most of the damage occurred in the old section of Kos Town, and though many were shaken, they were no injuries to report in the other villages.
The quake was felt on the island of Rhodes, too where vacationing Greek-Americans the Georgiadis’ noted that the quake woke them up in the middle of the night, but their kids slept through it.
Many more Greek-Americans whether or not they hail from the island of Kos or other nearby Dodecanese islands, expressed their condolences for the two tourists who were killed with thoughts and prayers to the families.
Diamando Sakellis, Kos-native and New York resident, noted that “they went on vacation to enjoy themselves and then they’re killed in an earthquake. It’s terrible.”
She observed that it had been years since Kos had been hit with such a powerful earthquake.
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