Expert says “No immediate cause for concern” after the earthquake near İskeçe
A 4.5-magnitude earthquake occurred Tuesday morning 13 kilometers west-northwest of İskeçe (Xanthi), in a marine area, prompting some local concern in an otherwise low-seismicity region.
Professor Kostas Papazachos, a specialist in lithosphere physics, seismology, and applied geophysics at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, told 104.9 FM that so far, the earthquake appears to be an isolated event.
He noted that a few minor tremors of around magnitude 2 accompanied it, but emphasized that such isolated quakes occur almost weekly across Greece and usually do not pose a significant threat.
Papazachos explained that the epicenter is near a major fault line extending from the İskeçe (Xanthi) region into the Yeniköy (Stavroupoli) mountains.
While many Greek earthquakes occur along known faults and merit careful monitoring, not every tremor triggers larger activity. The current seismic sequence remained very weak as of midday Tuesday.
He cautioned that Thrace is a complex seismic area. Despite generally low activity, it contains major faults that have historically produced powerful earthquakes exceeding magnitude 7, though such events are rare.
“People are not accustomed to earthquakes here as they are in regions like Kefalonia or Aigio,” Papazachos said.
He urged patience, recommending that residents monitor developments over the next two to three days to see whether stronger aftershocks occur.
