1999 Athens earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 1999 Athens earthquake, registering a moment magnitude of 6.0, occurred on September 7, 1999, at 2:56:50 pm local time and lasted approximately 15 seconds. The tremor was epicentered approximately 17 km to the northwest of the city center, in a sparsely populated area between the working-class town of Acharnes
and the Mount Parnitha National Park. This proximity to the Athens Metropolitan Area resulted in widespread structural damage, mainly to the nearby towns of Ano Liossia, Acharnes
, Fyli
and Thrakomakedones as well as to the northern Athenian suburbs of Kifissia
, Metamorfosi
, Kamatero
and Nea Philadelphia. More than 100 buildings (including three major factories) across those areas collapsed trapping scores of victims under their rubble while dozens more were severely damaged. Overall, 143 people lost their lives and more than 2,000 were treated for injuries in what eventually became Greece's deadliest natural disaster in almost half a century. This event took Greek seismologists by surprise as it came from a previously unknown fault, originating in an area that was for a long time considered of a particularly low seismicity. The highest recorded peak ground acceleration
was 0.3g, at 15 km from the epicentre, with attenuation predicting 0.6g acceleration at the centre.
to hit the country in nearly 20 years. The last major earthquake to hit Athens took place on February 24, 1981, near the Alkyonides Islands of the Corinthian Gulf, some 77 km to the west of the Greek capital. Registering a moment magnitude of 6.7, the 1981 earthquake had resulted in the deaths of 20 people and considerable and widespread structural damage
in the city of Corinth
, nearby towns and sections of Athens' western suburbs.
Apart from the proximity of the epicenter to the Athens Metropolitan Area, this quake also featured a very shallow hypocenter
combined with unusually high ground accelerations
. Unexpectedly heavy damage also affected the town of Adames. The tangible loss was estimated at about 3 billion US dollars. No significant structural damage was reported to the municipality of Athens and the southern and eastern suburbs of the city. The Acropolis of Athens
and the rest of the city's famous ancient monuments escaped the disaster either totally unharmed or suffering only minor damage. A landslide as well as several fissures were reported along the road leading to the peak of Mount Parnitha. Minor damage was also reported to water and waste networks close to the epicenter.
. This peculiar succession of earthquakes and mutual help of both countries gave rise to talks about what became known as the "Greek-Turkish earthquake diplomacy
", in hopes for a breakthrough in bilateral relations, which had been marred by decades of mutual hostility. Turkey reciprocated the aid rendered by Greece immediately following the August 17, 1999 Turkish earthquake. A special taskforce was formed, consisting of the Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry, the Turkish Armed Forces, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Internal Affairs and the Greek Embassy in Ankara
was contacted. The Turkish aid was the first to arrive in the affected areas, with the first 20-person rescue team arriving in Athens within 13 hours after the earthquake struck. The Greek consulates and the embassy in Turkey had their phone lines jammed with Turkish citizens offering blood donation
s.
Acharnes
Acharnes is a suburb of Athens, Greece. It is the most populous municipality in East Attica. Much of the area north of the area are the forested Parnitha ranges and the parkland. The municipality is north of the Greater Ring of Athens. It is located about 10 km due north of Athens.In...
and the Mount Parnitha National Park. This proximity to the Athens Metropolitan Area resulted in widespread structural damage, mainly to the nearby towns of Ano Liossia, Acharnes
Acharnes
Acharnes is a suburb of Athens, Greece. It is the most populous municipality in East Attica. Much of the area north of the area are the forested Parnitha ranges and the parkland. The municipality is north of the Greater Ring of Athens. It is located about 10 km due north of Athens.In...
, Fyli
Fyli
Fyli is a town and a municipality in the northwestern part of Attica, Greece. It lies in the northeastern corner of the West Attica regional unit, and is a suburb of Athens...
and Thrakomakedones as well as to the northern Athenian suburbs of Kifissia
Kifissia
Kifissia or Kifisia is one of the most expensive northern suburbs of Athens, mainly accessed via Kifissias Avenue, running all the way from central Athens up to Theseos Avenue in the suburb of Nea Erythraia. It has traditionally been home to the major Greek political families...
, Metamorfosi
Metamorfosi
Metamorfosi is a suburb in the northern part of Athens, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica region...
, Kamatero
Kamatero
Kamatero , is a suburb northwest of Athens, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agioi Anargyroi-Kamatero, of which it is a municipal unit...
and Nea Philadelphia. More than 100 buildings (including three major factories) across those areas collapsed trapping scores of victims under their rubble while dozens more were severely damaged. Overall, 143 people lost their lives and more than 2,000 were treated for injuries in what eventually became Greece's deadliest natural disaster in almost half a century. This event took Greek seismologists by surprise as it came from a previously unknown fault, originating in an area that was for a long time considered of a particularly low seismicity. The highest recorded peak ground acceleration
Peak ground acceleration
Peak ground acceleration is a measure of earthquake acceleration on the ground and an important input parameter for earthquake engineering, also known as the design basis earthquake ground motion...
was 0.3g, at 15 km from the epicentre, with attenuation predicting 0.6g acceleration at the centre.
Damage
The 1999 quake was the most devastating and costly natural disasterNatural disaster
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
to hit the country in nearly 20 years. The last major earthquake to hit Athens took place on February 24, 1981, near the Alkyonides Islands of the Corinthian Gulf, some 77 km to the west of the Greek capital. Registering a moment magnitude of 6.7, the 1981 earthquake had resulted in the deaths of 20 people and considerable and widespread structural damage
Earthquake engineering
Earthquake engineering is the scientific field concerned with protecting society, the natural and the man-made environment from earthquakes by limiting the seismic risk to socio-economically acceptable levels...
in the city of Corinth
Corinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
, nearby towns and sections of Athens' western suburbs.
Apart from the proximity of the epicenter to the Athens Metropolitan Area, this quake also featured a very shallow hypocenter
Hypocenter
The hypocenter refers to the site of an earthquake or a nuclear explosion...
combined with unusually high ground accelerations
Peak ground acceleration
Peak ground acceleration is a measure of earthquake acceleration on the ground and an important input parameter for earthquake engineering, also known as the design basis earthquake ground motion...
. Unexpectedly heavy damage also affected the town of Adames. The tangible loss was estimated at about 3 billion US dollars. No significant structural damage was reported to the municipality of Athens and the southern and eastern suburbs of the city. The Acropolis of Athens
Acropolis of Athens
The Acropolis of Athens or Citadel of Athens is the best known acropolis in the world. Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification...
and the rest of the city's famous ancient monuments escaped the disaster either totally unharmed or suffering only minor damage. A landslide as well as several fissures were reported along the road leading to the peak of Mount Parnitha. Minor damage was also reported to water and waste networks close to the epicenter.
Turkish aid
The tremor took place less than a month after a (much larger in scale) Turkish disaster1999 Izmit earthquake
The 1999 İzmit earthquake was a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northwestern Turkey on August 17, 1999, at about 3:02am local time. The event lasted for 37 seconds, killing around 17,000 people and leaving approximately half a million people homeless...
. This peculiar succession of earthquakes and mutual help of both countries gave rise to talks about what became known as the "Greek-Turkish earthquake diplomacy
Greek-Turkish earthquake diplomacy
The Greek–Turkish earthquake diplomacy was initiated after successive earthquakes hit both countries in the summer of 1999 and led to an improvement in Greco-Turkish relations. The so called "earthquake diplomacy" generated an outpouring of sympathy and generous assistance provided by ordinary...
", in hopes for a breakthrough in bilateral relations, which had been marred by decades of mutual hostility. Turkey reciprocated the aid rendered by Greece immediately following the August 17, 1999 Turkish earthquake. A special taskforce was formed, consisting of the Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry, the Turkish Armed Forces, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Internal Affairs and the Greek Embassy in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
was contacted. The Turkish aid was the first to arrive in the affected areas, with the first 20-person rescue team arriving in Athens within 13 hours after the earthquake struck. The Greek consulates and the embassy in Turkey had their phone lines jammed with Turkish citizens offering blood donation
Blood donation
A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions or made into medications by a process called fractionation....
s.
Further reading
- The Athens (Greece) Earthquake of September 7, 1999: Preliminary Report on Strong Motion Data and Structural Response.
- Athens EERI Preliminary Report
- The Source Mechanism of the Athens Earthquake, September 7, 1999, Estimated from P Seismograms Recorded at Long Range
- Pavlides, S.Spyros B. PavlidesDr. Spyros B. Pavlides is Greek geologist, professor of the Department of Geology and Physical Geography,Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, vice-president of the School of Geology, AUTh . His primary interests include neotectonics, paleoseismology, archaeoseismology, and use of...
, Papadopoulos, G. A., and Ganas, A., 1999. The 7th September 1999 unexpected earthquake of Athens: Preliminary results on the seismotectonic environment, 1st Conf. Advances in Natural Hazards Mitigation: Experiences from Europe and Japan, Programme-Abstracts-Reports, Athens, 3–4 November 1999, 80-85. - Ganas, A., Papadopoulos, G., and Pavlides, S. B., 2001. The 7th September 1999 Athens 5.9 Ms earthquake: remote sensing and digital elevation model inputs towards identifying the seismic fault. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 22 (1), 191-196.
- Ganas, A., Stavrakakis, G., Lagios, E., Papadopoulos, G., & Pavlides, S., Investigation of the seismic fault that ruptured during the 7/9/99 Athens earthquake using space techniques, RSPS 2001 Proceedings, Natural Hazards
- Elenas A. (Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Structural Mechanics and Earthquake Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, GR-67100 Xanthi, Greece) "Athens Earthquake of 7 September 1999: Intensity Measures and Observed Damages", ISET Journal of Earthquake Technology, Technical Note, Vol. 40, No.1, March 2003, pp. 77–97.