ATHENS, Greece - A strong earthquake struck the Greek island of Rhodes early Tuesday, killing a woman who slipped trying to flee her home, local authorities said.

No major damage was reported to any of the island's buildings by the quake, which the Athens Geodynamic Institute said had a preliminary magnitude of 6.3. The quake struck at 6:26 a.m. Tuesday about 440 kilometres southeast of Athens, beneath the seabed south of Rhodes, the Geodynamic Institute said.

Residents and tourists fled their homes and hotels in panic. Dodecanese prefect Yiannis Mahairides said on Antenna radio that one woman died of head injuries when she tripped and fell on a staircase in her home in a village on Rhodes.

The U.S. Geological Survey gave the magnitude as 6.4. Magnitudes often differ in the first hours and days after an earthquake.

Greece is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, but most of the quakes do not cause damage or injuries.

On June 8, a 6.5-magnitude quake struck near the western port city of Patras, damaging hundreds of buildings and injuring more than 200 people. In 1999, a magnitude 5.9 quake near Athens killed 143 people.

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