A strong earthquake with preliminary magnitude 5.5 struck the southern Greek island of Crete early Thursday, AP quoted the Athens Geodynamic Institute as saying, rattling residents but causing no injuries or damage. The quake struck at 3:20 a.m. (0020GMT) and had an epicenter 385 kilometers (240 miles) southeast of Athens, in the Zakrou area of eastern Crete, the institute said. Seismologists said it was not related to the very strong 6.5 earthquake that hit western Greece on Sunday. That quake, near the western port city of Patras, killed two people, injured more than 200 and flattened or severely damaged more than 200 houses. Greece is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. In 1999, a magnitude 5.9 quake near Athens killed 143 people.
