Moderate earthquake rattles island of Rhodes

The undersea quake had a preliminary magnitude of 4.9 and occurred at 1:56 a.m. (22:56 GMT) with an epicenter 450 kilometers (281 miles) southeast of Athens, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said. The temblor was felt on the island of Rhodes, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of the epicenter, the Institute said.

Greece is hit each year by dozens of earthquakes, which are usually small and cause little damage. But a 5.9 quake which hit the Greek capital last year caused significant damage and left 143 people dead. A quake of magnitude 4 often causes slight damage. Magnitude 5 can produce moderate damage

(AP)