The University of Athens offers information on all recent earthquakes on its website.
The Institute of Geodynamics in Greece lists recent earthquake data on its website, which offers a Greek and English language version. They show the epicenter, intensity and graph other information about each earthquake that hits Greece.
The United States Geological Survey site offers a list of strong earthquakes around the world: any earthquakes that have affected Greece in the last seven days will be listed.
The English-language newspaper Kathimerini has an online version, eKathimerini, which is a good source of information related to the earthquake.
There have been many earthquakes in Greece in recent years, including major earthquakes in or near Crete, Rhodes, the Peloponnese, Karpathos, and elsewhere in Greece. A major earthquake struck the island of Samothrace, in the north Aegean Sea, on May 24, 2014; initial estimates came to 7.2, although they were revised downward. Crete was hit by a strong earthquake, originally measured as 6.2 but later estimated at 5.9, on April Fools’ Day 2011.
Earthquakes in Greece
Greece is one of the countries with the highest seismic activity in the world.
Fortunately, most Greek earthquakes are relatively mild, but there is always the possibility of more severe seismic activity. Greek builders are aware of this and modern Greek buildings are built to be safe during earthquakes. Similar earthquakes often strike near Turkey and result in much more extensive damage and injuries due to less stringent building codes.
Most of Crete, Greece, and the Greek islands are contained in a “box” of faults that extend in different directions. This adds to the seismic potential of still-living volcanoes, including the Nysiros volcano, which some experts believe is overdue by a major eruption.
Underwater earthquakes
Many of the earthquakes that hit Greece have their epicenters under the sea. While these can shake the surrounding islands, they rarely cause serious damage.
The ancient Greeks attributed earthquakes to the god of the sea, Poseidon, perhaps because many of them were centered under the waters.
The 1999 Athens earthquake
One severe earthquake was the 1999 Athens earthquake, which struck outside of Athens itself. The suburbs where it struck were among the poorest in Athens, with many old buildings. More than 100 buildings collapsed, more than 100 people died and many others were injured or made homeless.
The 1953 earthquake
On March 18, 1953, an earthquake called the Yenice-Gonen Quake struck Turkey and Greece, devastating several places and islands. Many of the “typical” Greek buildings that we see on the islands today actually date from after this earthquake, which occurred before modern building codes were implemented.
Earthquakes in ancient Greece
Many earthquakes were recorded in ancient Greece, some of which were severe enough to destroy cities or cause coastal settlements to disappear.
The eruption of Thira (Santorini)
Some earthquakes in Greece are caused by volcanoes, including the one that forms the island of Santorini. This is the volcano that exploded in the Bronze Age, sending out a great cloud of debris and dust, and turning a round island into a pale crescent of its former self. Some experts see this disaster as the end of the rise of the Crete-based Minoan civilization just 70 miles away from Thira. This eruption also caused a tsunami, although how devastating it really was is a matter of debate for both academics and volcanologists.
The Crete earthquake of 365
This devastating earthquake with a presumed epicenter in southern Crete awakened all the fault lines in the area and emitted a large tsunami that struck Alexandria, Egypt, sending ships two miles inland. The topography of Crete may also have drastically changed. Some remnants of this tsunami can still be seen on the beach at Matala, Crete.
Tsunamis in Greece
After the devastating tsunami that hit the Pacific Ocean in 2004, Greece decided to install its own tsunami detection system. At present, it has yet to be tested, but is intended to warn of any potentially large waves approaching the Greek islands. But fortunately, the type of earthquake that caused the devastating 2004 Asian tsunami is not common in the Greece region.
From Sfakia-net: earthquakes in Crete
