List of earthquakes in Greece
Encyclopedia
This list of earthquakes in Greece includes notable earthquake
s that have affected Greece
during recorded history. This list is currently incomplete, representing only a fraction of the possible events.
and the Eurasian Plate
. 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 with respect to the Eurasian Plate at about 30 mm/yr while the African Plate is subducting
northwards beneath the Aegean Sea Plate at a rate of about 40 mm/yr. The northern plate boundary is a relatively diffuse divergent boundary
while the southern convergent boundary
forms the Hellenic arc
.
These two plate boundaries give rise to two contrasting tectonic styles, extension
on east-west trending fault zones with strike-slip tectonics
on SW-NE trending fault zones throughout west
and central Greece
, Peloponnese
and the northern Aegean
and contractional
in the southern Aegean, continuing around to the Ionian islands
. The south Aegean
is the location of the volcanic arc and is characterised by extension. To the east of Crete
along the Hellenic Arc, strike-slip tectonics
with some extension become important.
The strongest earthquakes historically are those associated with the Hellenic Arc, although none larger than about 7.2 have been observed instrumentally. The events of 365 AD and 1303 AD are likely to have been much larger than this. In mainland Greece, normal faulting gives earthquakes up to 7 in magnitude, while in the northern Aegean, strike-slip events with a magnitude of 7.2 have been recorded. Large intermediate depth (>50 km) earthquakes of magnitude >7 from within the subducting African Plate have been recorded but such events cause little damage, although they are widely felt.
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s that have affected Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
during recorded history. This list is currently incomplete, representing only a fraction of the possible events.
Tectonic setting
Greece is located at the complex boundary zone in the eastern Mediterranean between the African PlateAfrican Plate
The African Plate is a tectonic plate which includes the continent of Africa, as well as oceanic crust which lies between the continent and various surrounding ocean ridges.-Boundaries:...
and the Eurasian Plate
Eurasian Plate
The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia...
. The northern part of Greece lies on the Eurasian Plate while the southern part lies on the Aegean Sea Plate
Aegean Sea Plate
The Aegean Sea Plate is a small tectonic plate located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea under southern Greece and far western Turkey. Its southern edge is a subduction zone south of Crete, where the African Plate is being swept under the Aegean Sea Plate...
. The Aegean Sea Plate is moving southwestward with respect to the Eurasian Plate at about 30 mm/yr while the African Plate is subducting
Subduction
In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's mantle, as the plates converge. These 3D regions of mantle downwellings are known as "Subduction Zones"...
northwards beneath the Aegean Sea Plate at a rate of about 40 mm/yr. The northern plate boundary is a relatively diffuse divergent boundary
Divergent boundary
In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts which produce rift valleys...
while the southern convergent boundary
Convergent boundary
In plate tectonics, a convergent boundary, also known as a destructive plate boundary , is an actively deforming region where two tectonic plates or fragments of lithosphere move toward one another and collide...
forms the Hellenic arc
Hellenic arc
The Hellenic arc or Aegean arc is an arcuate tectonic feature of the eastern Mediterranean Sea related to the subduction of the African Plate beneath the Aegean Sea Plate...
.
These two plate boundaries give rise to two contrasting tectonic styles, extension
Extensional tectonics
Extensional tectonics is concerned with the structures formed, and the tectonic processes associated with, the stretching of the crust or lithosphere.-Deformation styles:...
on east-west trending fault zones with strike-slip tectonics
Strike-slip tectonics
Strike-slip tectonics is concerned with the structures formed by, and the tectonic processes associated with, zones of lateral displacement within the crust or lithosphere.-Deformation styles:-Riedel shear structures:...
on SW-NE trending fault zones throughout west
West Greece
West Greece is one of the thirteen regions of Greece. It comprises the western part of continental Greece and the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula.- Administration :...
and central Greece
Central Greece
Continental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Roúmeli , is a geographical region of Greece. Its territory is divided into the administrative regions of Central Greece, Attica, and part of West Greece...
, Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
and the northern Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
and contractional
Thrust tectonics
Thrust tectonics or contractional tectonics is concerned with the structures formed, and the tectonic processes associated with, the shortening and thickening of the crust or lithosphere.-Deformation styles:...
in the southern Aegean, continuing around to the Ionian islands
Ionian Islands
The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...
. The south Aegean
South Aegean
The South Aegean is one of the thirteen regions of Greece. It consists of the Cyclades and Dodecanese island groups in the central and southeastern Aegean Sea.- Administration :...
is the location of the volcanic arc and is characterised by extension. To the east of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
along the Hellenic Arc, strike-slip tectonics
Strike-slip tectonics
Strike-slip tectonics is concerned with the structures formed by, and the tectonic processes associated with, zones of lateral displacement within the crust or lithosphere.-Deformation styles:-Riedel shear structures:...
with some extension become important.
The strongest earthquakes historically are those associated with the Hellenic Arc, although none larger than about 7.2 have been observed instrumentally. The events of 365 AD and 1303 AD are likely to have been much larger than this. In mainland Greece, normal faulting gives earthquakes up to 7 in magnitude, while in the northern Aegean, strike-slip events with a magnitude of 7.2 have been recorded. Large intermediate depth (>50 km) earthquakes of magnitude >7 from within the subducting African Plate have been recorded but such events cause little damage, although they are widely felt.
List of notable earthquakes
| Date | Time‡ | Place | Latitude Latitude In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a... |
Longitude Longitude Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda .... |
Fatalities | Magnitude Moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of... |
Comments | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 464 BC | Sparta Sparta Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c... see 464 BC Sparta earthquake 464 BC Sparta earthquake The Sparta earthquake of 464 BC destroyed much of Sparta, a city-state of ancient Greece. Historical sources suggest that the death toll may have been as high as 20,000, although modern scholars suggest that this figure is likely an exaggeration. The earthquake sparked a revolt of the helots, the... |
37.08 | 22.43 | up to 20,000 | 7.2 | Ms | ||
| 426 BC | Euboic Gulf see 426 BC Malian Gulf tsunami |
38.87 | 22.62 | The historian Thucydides Thucydides Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC... concluded that the tsunami Tsunami A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake... was caused by the earthquake, the first to recognize such a link |
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| 226 BC | Rhodes Rhodes Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within... see 226 BC Rhodes earthquake 226 BC Rhodes earthquake The Rhodes earthquake of 226 BC, which affected the island of Rhodes, Greece, is famous for having toppled the large statue known as the Colossus of Rhodes. Following the earthquake, the statue lay in place for nearly 8 centuries before being sold off by invaders... |
36.43 | 28.21 | Toppled the Colossus of Rhodes Colossus of Rhodes The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek Titan Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes on the Greek island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos between 292 and 280 BC. It is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was constructed to celebrate Rhodes' victory over the ruler of... |
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| 21 July 365 | Sunrise | Crete Crete Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits... , Alexandria Alexandria Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving... see 365 Crete earthquake 365 Crete earthquake The AD 365 Crete earthquake was an undersea earthquake that occurred at about sunrise on 21 July 365 in the Eastern Mediterranean, with an assumed epicentre near Crete. Geologists today estimate the quake to have been 8 on the Richter Scale or higher, causing widespread destruction in central and... |
35.07 | 24.95 | ~8 | Raised part of Crete 9 metres, causing severe damage and triggering a tsunami that devastated Alexandria | ||
| December 856 | 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... |
37.9 | 22.9 | 45,000 | ||||
| 8 August 1303 | 06:00 local time | Crete Crete Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits... , Alexandria Alexandria Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving... see 1303 Crete earthquake 1303 Crete earthquake The 1303 Crete earthquake occurred at about dawn on 8 August. It had an estimated magnitude of about 8 and triggered a major tsunami that caused severe damage and loss of life on Crete and at Alexandria.-Tectonic setting:... |
35.0 | 27.0 | 10,000 | ~8 | Triggered a major tsunami; severely damaged the Lighthouse of Alexandria Lighthouse of Alexandria The Lighthouse of Alexandria, also known as the Pharos of Alexandria , was a tower built between 280 and 247 BC on the island of Pharos at Alexandria, Egypt... |
|
| 3 May 1481 | 03:00 | Rhodes Rhodes Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within... see 1481 Rhodes earthquake 1481 Rhodes earthquake The 1481 Rhodes earthquake occurred at 3:00 in the morning on 3 May. It triggered a small tsunami, which caused local flooding. There were an estimated 30,000 casualties... |
36.0 | 28.0 | 30,000 | 7.1 | Ms | |
| 16 February 1810 | 22:15 | Crete Crete Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits... , Heraklion Heraklion Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece.... see 1810 Crete earthquake 1810 Crete earthquake The 1810 Crete earthquake occurred at 22:15 on 16 February. It caused great destruction in Heraklion, some damage from Malta to northern Egypt and was felt from central Italy to Syria. 2,000 casualties were reported from Candia .-Tectonic setting:... |
35.5 | 25.6 | 2,000 | 7.5 | Mw | |
| 3 April 1881 | 11:30 | Chios Chios Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages... , Çeşme Çesme Çeşme is a coastal town and the center-town of the district of the same name in Turkey's western-most end, on a promontory on the tip of the peninsula which also carries the same name and which extends inland to form a whole with the wider Karaburun Peninsula... , Alaçatı Alaçati Alaçatı is a unique Aegean town on the western coast of İzmir Province in Turkey, which has been famous for its architecture, vineyards and windmills for over 150 years... see 1881 Chios earthquake 1881 Chios earthquake The 1881 Chios earthquake occurred at 11:30 UTC on 3 April. It caused severe damage on the island of Chios and also affected Çeşme and Alaçatı on the coast of Turkey. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.3 and there were an estimated 7,866 casualties... |
38.25 | 26.25 | 7,866 | 6.5 | Mw | |
| 26 September 1932 | 19:20 | Ierissos see 1932 Ierissos earthquake 1932 Ierissos earthquake The 1932 Ierissos earthquake occurred at 19:20 on 26 September. It caused severe damage in Ierissos and the surrounding part of the Chalkidiki peninsula, with 491 casualties reported.-Tectonic setting:... |
39.8 | 23.8 | 491 | 7.0 | ||
| 12 August 1953 | 09:24 | Kefalonia Kefalonia The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit... , Zakynthos Zakynthos Zakynthos , also Zante, the other form often used in English and in Italian , is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It covers an area of ... see 1953 Ionian Earthquake 1953 Ionian Earthquake The Great 1953 Ionian Earthquake struck the southern Ionian Islands in Greece on August 12, 1953. In mid-August 1953, beginning on 8 August there were over 113 recorded earthquakes in the region between Kefalonia and Zakynthos, but the most destructive was the earthquake of August 12th... |
38.2 | 20.6 | 476 | 7.2 | Ms | |
| 9 July 1956 | 03:11:39 | Dodecanese Dodecanese The Dodecanese are a group of 12 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, of which 26 are inhabited. Τhis island group generally defines the eastern limit of the Sea of Crete. They belong to the Southern Sporades island group... |
36.9 | 26.0 | 56 | 7.8 | Ms Triggered a tsunami that affected the entire Aegean Sea | |
| 20 June 1978 | 11:04 | Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace... see 1978 Thessaloniki earthquake 1978 Thessaloniki earthquake The Great Thessaloniki Earthquake was an earthquake that occurred on 20 June 1978, at 22:03 local time, and registered 6.6 on the moment magnitude scale. It was felt throughout northern Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. It was the largest seismic activity in the area since 1932.... |
47 | 6.5 | Mw | |||
| 7 September 1999 | 11:56 | Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... see 1999 Athens earthquake 1999 Athens earthquake 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... |
38.11 | 23.60 | 143 | 6.0 | Mw | |
| 8 January 2006 | 11:34 | Kythira Kythira Cythera is an island in Greece, once part of the Ionian Islands. It lies opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is administratively part of the Islands regional unit, which is part of the Attica region , Greece.For many centuries, while naval travel was the only means... see 2006 Southern Greece earthquake |
36.30 | 23.36 | 6.8 | Mw | ||
| 8 June 2008 | 12:25 | Peloponnese Peloponnese The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth... see 2008 Peloponnese earthquake 2008 Peloponnese earthquake The 2008 Peloponnese earthquake was a deadly earthquake that killed two people, injured more than 220 and left at least 2,000 people homeless in north western Peloponese, Greece, on June 8, 2008. The earthquake hit the area at 1525 EET , with a moment magnitude of 6.5, according to the Athens... |
38.029 | 21.464 | 2 | 6.5 | Mw | |
| 15 July 2008 | 03:26 | Dodecanese Dodecanese The Dodecanese are a group of 12 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, of which 26 are inhabited. Τhis island group generally defines the eastern limit of the Sea of Crete. They belong to the Southern Sporades island group... see 2008 Dodecanese earthquake 2008 Dodecanese earthquake The 2008 Dodecanese earthquake, on 15 July 2008, was an earthquake near Kattavia on the island of Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The quake struck at 06:26 a.m. local time and one woman was killed when she slipped and fell as she tried to flee her home. However, the earthquake did... |
35.80 | 27.86 | 1 | 6.4 | Mw | |