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A state of emergency has been declared on the Greek island of Lesbos after an earthquake left hundreds of people homeless and one woman dead.
The southern village of Vrisa was worst hit by Monday’s 6.3 magnitude tremor in the Aegean Sea.
A 43-year-old mother was killed when her home collapsed. Her husband was hurt but survived.
“She leaves behind two children whose father is badly injured,” said Evangelos Valelis, a relative of the victim.
“You can look at the village. It is not there anymore. It’s a ghost village now. Our life changed violently in the space of a few seconds.”
Quake kills woman, ravages houses on Greek island of Lesbos https://t.co/9oA8mqVlT0 pic.twitter.com/ZV6q4MWVTA
— euronews (@euronews) 13 juin 2017
“Three houses – mine, my mother’s and my mother-in-law’s – were totally destroyed,” said Vrisa resident Kostas Kalantzis.
“But when people are feeling better they will be able to restore everything.”
Around a dozen people were hurt in the tremor which damaged most village homes beyond repair, forcing residents into emergency accommodation.
Lesbos Mayor Spyros Galinos said that dozens of engineers had arrived from Athens to oversee the inspection of buildings and structures.
He said that repair work had already started and thanked all those who had offered their support.
#Lesvos has so many friends around the world, but we don't take you for granted. The people of Lesvos are grateful to you. #ThankYou. https://t.co/74woAJVRWz
— Spyros Galinos (@SpyrosGalinos) 13 juin 2017
According to Greek media, the government has vowed to undertake a reconstruction effort.
Government vows to rebuild quake-hit village https://t.co/xr7YGxbwZo pic.twitter.com/xiirTvSnHe
— Kathimerini English (@ekathimerini) 13 juin 2017
Our correspondent in Lesbos, Michalis Arampatzoglou, said:
“The people of Vrisa are facing the aftermath of this devastating earthquake. Right here, this is where the village primary school stood. Now these people are in despair, trying to save the efforts and hard work of a lifetime.”