Efthymios Lekkas, president of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organisation, said that the quake was not directly related to the first tremor a month ago, but instead was a sign of the activation of the Eastern part of the Hellenic arc.

[6] According to a moment tensor solution by the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake was associated with shallow normal faulting within the Aegean Sea plate at a depth of 10 km.

[7] The island of Crete, and the country of Greece in general is prone to seismic activity and is home to one of the most destructive earthquakes in all of Europe.

[9] The church of Saint Nicholas in Xerokampos, Sitia collapsed, but no casualties were reported as the structure was vacant during the time of the shock.

[10][11][12] Efthymios Lekkas, a professor of dynamic tectonic applied geology & disaster management at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens said that fortunately damage was minimal and was only observed in old or abandoned masonry buildings.

Apart from Crete, the whole southern Aegean has been shaken," Geodynamics Institute in Athens director Vassilis Karastathis also said in an interview with popular Greek newspaper Proto Thema saying: "There is always an announcement when there is a strong earthquake in the sea.

The earthquake management team which was already present since September 27 after the initial quake a month earlier was re-implemented as well as the return of the mobilization of the Civil Protection in the municipality.