Mediterranean Sea
Tense calm after the earthquake in western Greece
There was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake in western Greece. photo
© Oliver Berg/dpa
The earth shook again in Greece. Were there any casualties or damage?
One day after the strong earthquake in the west In Greece, residents have returned to their homes. Many residents had since left their apartments. “We had no injuries and no significant damage,” said the mayor of the small town Zaharo Kostas Mitropoulos on Greek radio. Nevertheless, according to seismologists, the danger of a new strong earthquake is not yet over.
Experts told Greek media that they will only be able to say with certainty in a few days that there will be no stronger earthquake in the region. “There was a magnitude 6.8 earthquake there in 2018,” said seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos.
According to the final measurement by the Geodynamic Institute in the Greek capital Athens, the quake on Friday morning had a magnitude of 5.7. The center of the quake was about 20 kilometers below the seabed off the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula near the small islands of Stamfani (also Strofades). This was preceded by a smaller earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 in the region. Several smaller aftershocks followed.
The fact that there was no serious damage is also due to the fact that Greece has strict construction rules. This is particularly true in the west of the country. Beneath the seabed between western Greece and Italian Sicily is the deepest place in the Mediterranean, at a depth of over 5,000 meters. The African and European plates meet in this region. Earthquakes occur again and again.