Cyprus faces minimal risk from possible large earthquake in Santorini, seismologist says

Source: in-cyprus.com

Cyprus faces minimal risk from the ongoing seismic activity in Greece’s Cyclades region, with a major earthquake deemed “highly unlikely”, a leading Greek seismologist told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

Manolis Skordilis, Professor of Seismology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, said Cyprus could only be affected by an earthquake comparable to the 1956 Amorgos tremor, which measured 7.7 on the Richter scale.

The Cyclades region has experienced hundreds of earthquakes since late January, with several exceeding magnitudes of 4 and 5, particularly in the area between Santorini and Amorgos islands.

“The seismic energy already released equals that of a magnitude 6-plus earthquake, which we consider the maximum potential for this particular fault”, Skordilis said.

He explained that insufficient stress has accumulated in the faults since the 1956 earthquake to trigger a similar event. The region differs significantly from the Ionian Islands, where strong earthquakes occur more frequently.

The current seismic zone showing activity corresponds to the area where the 1956 earthquake occurred. However, present data does not suggest the possibility of a tremor of that magnitude, though an earthquake exceeding magnitude 6 remains possible.

Regarding potential impacts on Cyprus, Skordilis noted that a strong seismic event could only affect neighbouring faults if they had already accumulated stress. However, determining the exact condition of faults in the region remains challenging.

The eastern Mediterranean region, including Cyprus, would only face significant effects from an earthquake comparable to the 1956 event, a scenario the professor considers “highly unlikely”.

Read more: