Athens: An undersea earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale according to preliminary reports, rocked southern Greece early Wednesday, authorities said, but no injuries or damage were reported.

The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the undersea quake occurred at 1:15 a.m. (2315GMT) west of the island of Kythira, some 230 kilometers (140 miles) southwest of Athens.

Kythira mayor Thodoros Koukoulis said no damage was reported.

"The earthquake occurred in the night and not all that many people noticed it," he told state NET television.

Two powerful quakes hit Greece off the city of Kalamata last week. The quakes measuring 6.5 and 6.4 on Feb. 14 caused only minor damage, but were felt as far away as Egypt.

Greece experiences some of the world's worst earthquakes. In 1999, a 5.9-magnitude quake near Athens killed 143 people and left thousands more homeless.