An earthquake of magnitude 3.5 occurred only 15 minutes ago 34 km southeast of Rethymno, Greece, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported.The quake hit at a very shallow depth of 5. km beneath the epicenter near Rethymno, Crete, Greece, early morning on Thursday, May 21st, 2026, at 2:41 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.Our monitoring service identified a second report from Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) which listed the quake at magnitude 3.6. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the Kandilli Oservatory and Earthquake Research Institute in Istanbul (KOERI-RETMC) at magnitude 3.4, the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) at magnitude 3.6, The Seismological Laboratory of the University of Athens (UOA) at magnitude 3.6, The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Geophysical Lab. (AUTH) at magnitude 3.4, and the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 3.6.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter. Weak shaking might have been felt in Agia Galini (pop. 1,400) located 12 km from the epicenter.Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Tympaki (pop. 5,300) located 19 km from the epicenter, Moires (pop. 6,400) 29 km away, Zaros (pop. 2,200) 32 km away, Rethymno (pop. 32,500) 34 km away, Violi Charaki (pop. 2,800) 34 km away, and Gazi (pop. 12,600) 54 km away. In Irakleion (pop. 137,200, 60 km away), and Chania (pop. 53,900, 69 km away), the quake was probably not felt.Earthquake data: Date & time: May 21, 2026 02:41 am (GMT +3) local time (20 May 2026 23:41 GMT)Magnitude: 3.5Depth: 5.00 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 35.07°N / 24.56°E (Greece)Primary data source: EMSC