Deadly earthquake strikes near Greek islands, off Turkish coast in eastern Aegean

It measured 6.6 on the Richter scale.

ByWilliam Mansell, Alexandra Svokos, and Engin Bas
October 31, 2020, 12:32 PM

A strong earthquake struck close to the Greek island of Samos in the eastern Aegean Sea off the coast of Turkey Friday, resulting in a lot of damage and at least 37 deaths.

The earthquake, measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale, was felt as far away as Athens and Istanbul.

PHOTO: Rescue workers and local people carry a wounded person found in the debris of a collapsed building, in Izmir, Turkey, Oct. 30, 2020, after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea shook Turkey and Greece.
Rescue workers and local people carry a wounded person found in the debris of a collapsed building, in Izmir, Turkey, Oct. 30, 2020, after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea shook Turkey and Greece. Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency said Friday's earthquake was centered in the Aegean at a depth of 10.3 miles and registered at a 6.6 magnitude.
Ismail Gokmen/AP
PHOTO: Locals and officials search for survivors at a collapsed building after a strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea and was felt in both Greece and Turkey, where some buildings collapsed in the coastal province of Izmir, Turkey, Oct. 30, 2020.
Locals and officials search for survivors at a collapsed building after a strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea and was felt in both Greece and Turkey, where some buildings collapsed in the coastal province of Izmir, Turkey, Oct. 30, 2020.
Tuncay Dersinlioglu/Reuters

In Turkey, at least 35 people died and 885 were injured in Izmir, Turkish authorities confirmed, with 243 people being treated in hospitals, according to the health minister. Eight people were in critical condition as of Saturday.

At least 70 people were rescued as a few dozen buildings collapsed in Izmir, according to AFAD, Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency.

NATO's land forces are also headquartered in Izmir, and both NATO and the Air Force say all their personnel are safe and accounted for.

PHOTO: Locals and officials search for survivors at a collapsed building after a strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea and was felt in both Greece and Turkey, where some buildings collapsed in the coastal province of Izmir, Turkey, Oct. 30, 2020.
Locals and officials search for survivors at a collapsed building after a strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea and was felt in both Greece and Turkey, where some buildings collapsed in the coastal province of Izmir, Turkey, Oct. 30, 2020.
Tuncay Dersinlioglu/Reuters
PHOTO: Seawater floods a square after an earthquake at the port of Vathi on the eastern Aegean island of Samos, Greece, Oct. 30, 2020.
Seawater floods a square after an earthquake at the port of Vathi on the eastern Aegean island of Samos, Greece, Oct. 30, 2020. A strong earthquake struck in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos.
Michael Svarnias/AP
PHOTO: Rescuers search for survivors at a collapsed building after a powerful earthquake struck Turkey's western coast and parts of Greece, in Izmir, on Oct. 30, 2020.
Rescuers search for survivors at a collapsed building after a powerful earthquake struck Turkey's western coast and parts of Greece, in Izmir, on Oct. 30, 2020.
Mert Cakir/AFP via Getty Images

The quake struck at 1.51 p.m. local time, just 19 kilometers (close to 12 miles) north-northwest from the Greek island of Samos' capital, at a depth of 10 kilometers, the National Observatory of Athens' (NOA) Geodynamic Institute said.

In Samos, two teens were killed when a wall collapsed on them and at least 18 others were injured according to the local hospital, per local news reports.

PHOTO: TCrushed cars and collapsed buildings lie in the aftermath of an earthquake on the island of Samos, Greece, Oct. 30, 2020.
Crushed cars and collapsed buildings lie in the aftermath of an earthquake on the island of Samos, Greece, Oct. 30, 2020.
Eurokinissi via AFP/Getty Images
PHOTO: People walk past a destroyed house after an earthquake in the island of Samos, Greece, Oct. 30, 2020.
People walk past a destroyed house after an earthquake in the island of Samos, Greece, Oct. 30, 2020. A powerful earthquake hit Greece and Turkey causing buildings to collapse and a sea surge that flooded streets in the Turkish resort city of Izmir. Greek public television said the quake also caused a mini-tsunami on the eastern Aegean Sea island of Samos, damaging buildings.
Eurokinissi via AFP/Getty Images

Samos is host to one of the three major refugee camps on the Greek islands. The other two are on Chios, which is about 50 miles north of Samos and directly west of Izmir, and Lesbos, which is about 50 miles north of Chios.

There were no casualties among the refugees and migrants at the sites on Samos and Chios, according to the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees confirmed to ABC News. There are reports of minimal impacts from the earthquake on Lesbos.

UNHCR staff are on the ground and assessing the situation, the organization said. Samos was hosting over 4,000 asylum-seekers and refugees as of Oct. 25.

ABC News' Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

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