5.7 Earthquake Rattles Western Peloponnese, Greece

A 5.7 earthquake rattled western Peloponnese in southern Greece on Friday morning just after 9 am local time.

The earthquake struck near the Strofades islands and was felt as far as Athens and Crete. There are no reports of injuries or damage until now.

“It is too early to say if this is the main earthquake,” seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos told state TV ERT.

Efthymios Lekkas, president of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (OASP) said that the earthquake should be of great concern because it has been recorded in a marine area with a large focal depth”.

He added that the quake was strongly felt in Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Agrinio, in areas of the Peloponnese and also in Athens. “However, it is an earthquake that does not appear to have an impact on building infrastructure and people,” he noted.

In January a 4.8 earthquake occurred under the sea near the coast of Peloponnese.

In the same month, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake occurred under the sea near the coast of the island of Evia in Greece.

In November 2023, a 5.1 earthquake also rattled the island of Evia.

Scientists warn that a large earthquake could strike Greece

Greece may be struck by a large earthquake like the one that has devastated Turkey and Syria, at least two Greek scientists said early in 2023.

The seismological forecasts were made during conversations about the impacts of the natural disasters in Turkey and Syria. The professors expressed concern that a similarly large earthquake could affect Greece sometime in the future.

Speaking in two separate interviews, Professor Konstantinos Synolakis and Professor Costas Papazachos drew similar conclusions when assessing the history of seismic activity in the Greek region.

Greece lies in a highly seismically active region. The vast majority of earthquakes cause no damage or injuries, however.

In October 2020, an earthquake that struck the eastern Greek Aegean island of Samos and the nearby Turkish coast killed two people on Samos and at least seventy-five people in Turkey.

Greece is located in a complex geological boundary zone in the eastern Mediterranean between the African and Eurasian Plates. The northern part of Greece lies on the Eurasian Plate, while the southern part lies on the Aegean Sea Plate.

The Aegean Sea Plate is moving southwestward concerning the Eurasian Plate at about an inch (thirty millimeters) per year, while the African Plate is moving northward, sliding beneath the Aegean Sea Plate at a rate of about 1.6 inches (forty millimeters) per year.