Experts reassuring after 5.2 temblor
Seismologists urged calm Tuesday after a magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck just after midnight in the South Evia Gulf, shaking Athens and sending residents into the streets.
Experts described the quake as part of a “normal, calm aftershock sequence,” with potential aftershocks of up to magnitude 4.5, according to Kostas Papazachos, professor of seismology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. “It wouldn’t surprise us if we saw an aftershock of 4.5,” he told Kathimerini.
Gerassimos Papadopoulos, a seismologist at the Hellenic Mediterranean University, said about 25 aftershocks had been recorded, none exceeding 2.8. He added, “It is open for aftershocks from 3.5 to 4.5.”
Papazachos noted that the epicenter was in a low-seismicity zone with no major earthquake history but warned of unknown faults. “If this quake had been 20 kilometers east of Crete, we wouldn’t be discussing it,” he said on Skai TV, citing the capital’s proximity to the epicenter, about 10 to 50 kilometers from key areas.
Authorities reported minor damage to about 15 homes and several public buildings in Karystos municipality. Mayor Lefteris Raviolos said inspections began immediately and no dangerous damage had been found. “There is only surface damage,” he told Kathimerini.
Schools, scheduled to open in two days, will also be inspected. Officials said calm prevailed in affected areas on Tuesday.
Kathimerini
