Seismologists are closely monitoring the seismic activity over the past 24 hours in the region of northern Evia, with the tremors occurring there also being felt in Attica.

Both the president of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (OASP), Efthymios Lekkas, and the seismologist Akis Tselentis, as well as the director of the Geodynamic Institute, Vasilis Karastathis, are urging caution following the most recent earthquake of 4.5 Richter early this morning, especially concerning older buildings in northern Evia.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lekkas estimated that we will experience earthquakes of 4–5 Richter in the coming days, while Akis Tselentis described the possibility of a 5.5 Richter quake from the same area as “feasible.” On his part, Mr. Karastathis described as “positive” the fact that no destructive earthquakes have occurred in the region in the past.

According to the mayor of Agia Anna–Mantoudi, more than 50 houses in the area near the earthquake’s epicenter have sustained damage.

Lekkas

Speaking to ERT about today’s quake as well as those that preceded it over the past 24 hours, the president of OASP, Efthymios Lekkas, said that “we will have such earthquakes in the range of 4–5 Richter over the coming days. We say this because in previous seismic activations from the same area, we saw the same pattern.”

As he explained, “the seismic potential gives us this image — earthquakes of 4–5 Richter developing over 4–5 days.”

However, according to Mr. Lekkas, “there is no particular reason for concern, we are monitoring the development of the phenomena.”

Finally, he stated that “it is not exactly the same area that produced the 5.1 Richter quake in 2023, but all of central and northern Evia has faults that, however, do not have the capacity to produce large earthquakes,” adding that we are dealing with a “cluster of faults.”

Tselentis

According to a Facebook post by Akis Tselentis regarding the third quake above 4 Richter in the past 24 hours, “these earthquakes occurred in the same zone where in November 2023 a 5.1-magnitude quake was recorded. The new tremors occurred in a part of this zone that had not yet ruptured since 2023.”

“There is a need for caution by residents, especially those living in old houses or houses with structural weaknesses (cracks), and they should not enter them without the approval of OASP engineers who have arrived in the area.”

==> “The possibility of a relatively strong earthquake of around 5.5 Richter is feasible (for something stronger, I find it very unlikely). This would have serious effects on the already burdened building stock in the area and could lead to partial collapses of some very old, already compromised homes,” adds the seismologist.

He also clarifies that “although a branch of the North Anatolian Fault, which caused the 6.2R earthquake in Turkey, passes near the epicentral area, the earthquakes in Evia ARE NOT RELATED to the recent earthquake in Turkey.”

Karastathis

Vasilis Karastathis, director of the Geodynamic Institute, spoke of 35 earthquakes in the area, the largest being this morning’s 4.5 Richter, adding that “this is why we did not refer to a main earthquake yesterday” (note: on Sunday, a 4.4 Richter earthquake occurred).

“We still cannot say anything about how the phenomenon will develop,” Mr. Karastathis added, calling it “a positive thing that no destructive earthquakes have occurred in the area in the past.”

As he noted, however, “accelerations may reach 7%, which is not small for certain old constructions. We must be cautious.”

According to him, “the earthquakes fall within the same area that produced the quakes of November 2023. It is a section of the zone near Prokopi that has been activated and is producing these earthquakes — we hope it goes well.”