New mapping of seismic faults
Scientists from the National Observatory of Athens (ΕΑΑ) and from New Zealand, using Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from the Hellenic Land Registry, have systematically mapped the whole country with the aim of recording the active seismic faults in terrestrial Greece. The scientists discovered hundreds of new seismic faults, while obtaining fuller details of already known ones, creating Active Faults Greece (AFG), the first such database in Greece, which was compiled on the basis of the seismic imprint of faults on the landscape and was published in the authoritative journal Scientific Data.
Tag Archives: earthquakes
Earthquakes and pirates in ancient Falasarna
The excavations at the archaeological site of Falasarna, at the northern end of the bay with its landmark beaches, have been reported piecemeal in the local press since the most recent phase started in 2022. What has been lacking is an account of the rise of the ancient city and the reasons for its decline, which resulted in the remains of the harbour now being situated several hundred metres inland. A local teachers’ association was recently given a tour of the site by a member of the excavation team, Dr Michalis Milidakis, and two of them, Katerina Varanaki and Chrysoula Kapsomenou, wrote an account of the site which places it in a historical context. Published on the Haniotika Neawebsite on 11th November, their account is reproduced in full here.
Continue readingTwo more strong earthquakes hit the South Aegean
Earthquake off Rhodes
On Tuesday morning at 2:17 am, residents of Crete were awakened by the second earthquake warning in less than 2 weeks, this time coming from Google’s Android Earthquake Alerts, the 112 SMS warning system apparently not having been activated.
Santorini returns to normality
Following the flurry of earthquakes of magnitude 4.0-5.0 Richter during the first half of the month of February, which resulted in the closure of schools in the Cyclades generally and an exodus of workers and residents especially from Santorini, the seismic sequence has shown signs of receding over the past 10 days or so, bringing hopes of a return to normality before the start of the all-important tourist season. Following meetings of the committees for assessing Seismic and Volcanic Risk, the decision has been taken to reopen the schools from Tuesday 4th March, resulting in a flow of returning residents, while hotels and restaurants are proceeding with preparations to welcome the first tourists in the middle of this month.
Continue readingMore earthquakes off Santorini
The seismic activity in the sea area between Santorini and Amorgos is continuing, with two fairly strong tremors registered on Wednesday (12th February) of 5.0 Richter at 1.50 am and 4.9 at 8.30 am. The earthquakes have continued unabated over the past 12 days with no sign of a reduction either in their frequency or their magnitude.
Continue readingNew archaeological finds in Chania
The area known as Kastelli Hill in the old city of Chania has been inhabited almost uninterruptedly since Minoan times. It was the centre of the ancient Minoan city of Kydonia and was later selected by the Romans as the site of an acropolis. Archaeological excavations started in the period 1964-1969 and have continued intermittently since then, with the participation of Swedish and Danish archaeologists (Wikipedia). The most recent phases of exploration have been carried out under Dr Maria Andreadi-Vlazaki supported by the Chania Ephorate of Antiquities and have proved a rich source of archaeological finds. Excavations carried out in the autumn of 2023 produced a hoard of 37 gold and silver coins depicting Alexander the Great, as well as the first evidence of human sacrifice in Minoan history. (Greekreporter.com)
Continue readingSantorini awaits a major earthquake
An unprecedented series of earthquakes has been registered during the past 6 days in the area between the islands of Thira (Santorini) and Amorgos. As recorded by the University of Athens Seismological Laboratory, by Wednesday afternoon (5th February) there had been a total of 419 tremors during this period with a magnitude of 3.0 or over on the Richter scale. Of these 71 were of magnitude 4.0 or over, and 379 at a focal depth of 10 km or less, making them more noticeable on the ground. There had been a small increase in the average magnitude over the 5-day period, with the strongest, at 5.0 Richter, registered just after 3.00 pm on Tuesday, 28.2 km south-west from Amorgos at a depth of 12.8 km.
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