Claire Gibson, 49, revealed her ‘unsettling’ ordeal while on Crete during Thursday’s terrifying 6.1 magnitude earthquake – the British mum tourist said she was woken up by the tremors
A British tourist revealed her “unsettling” ordeal when a terrifying earthquake woke her up from her sleep at a popular tourist island.
Claire Gibson, 49, from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, had been holidaying with her family at a plush resort in Crete, Greece, but revealed she was shaken by tremors that rocked the island in the early hours of the morning on Thursday. The flooring and furniture retailer was staying at Hersonissos, Crete, which was struck by the earthquake yesterday. Claire described the terrifying moment the seismic waves hit the island and why she was particularly scared, because of the hotel she was staying in.
Crete was rocked by 6.1 magnitude earthquake that struck just off the coast on Thursday morning as locals and tourists were urged to stay away from coastal areas. Aftershocks have been ongoing and a tsunami warning was issued, but the location of the epicentre has meant a catastrophic event like that is thankfully unlikely.
Claire shared how strong the tremors were, saying: “My phone just woke me up. There was an earthquake notification. The alert went off, woke us up and the whole room was shaking. It was my first experience of an earthquake.”
She added: “The floor was shaking – it was an unsettling experience. The wardrobe doors were banging like mad and we could feel the whole building shake.
“Thankfully there was no damage. It was my first experience of an earthquake.”
Claire explained why the location of her hotel on the island had made her particularly nervous, saying: “Because our hotel is right on the coastline our first concern was the risk of a tsunami.”
Yesterday’s tremor was the second quake to hit the island. The epicentre was in the sea 36 miles north-northeast of Elounda which is on the northern coast of the Greek island and it was 43 miles deep, according to the US Geological Survey.
Images have shown the impact the earthquake has so far had to buildings and land on the island. Pictures from a high street in Heraklion, on the island, show a police cordon in place with rubble strewn across the road after the facade of a building partially collapsed. Several smaller roads have been closed in the area due to landslips following the earthquake, local firefighters have said.
An incredible video showed the moment a cat appeared to sense the tremors shortly before Crete was rocked by the quake. CCTV caught the animal running to safety as the area around it started shaking.
The cat is seen casually wandering across a patio in the clip before stopping in its tracks and fleeing the scene, running across the road shortly before shaking began.