4.6 Richter aftershock rattles quake-hit islanders awake in Ionian

A tremor measuring an initially estimated 4.6 on the Richter scale shook the quake-hit island of Cephalonia on Tuesday shortly after 8 a.m., with seismologists assuring residents that it was an aftershock of the 5.9 Richter quake that struck the area on Sunday.

Over 1,000 residents of Cephalonia whose homes suffered damage spent Sunday and Monday night on two ferry boats dispatched the island to provide temporary shelter, the state-run Athens-Macedonia News Agency reported, while hundreds more slept in their cars or spent the night at public squares.

Schools were to remain closed for a second day Tuesday as checks continued on dozens of damaged buildings and roads were cleared of rocks that tumbled down during landslides.

Interior Minister Yiannis Michelakis has pledged 100,000 euros in state aid for the immediate needs of the islanders and the same sum for residents of the nearby island of Ithaca which was also affected by the earthquake.