Seismologists reassuring over Athens quake
Monday night’s earthquake was felt as strongly as was in the Greek capital because it was very close by, 28 kilometers northeastern of the city center in Stamata, and was close to the surface at a depth of just 4 to 5 kilometers, seismologists say.
The quake, which has been put at a magnitude of 4.2-4.4 Richter by different sources, struck shortly before 10.30 p.m. in a broader area that has seen intense but moderate activity in the past few weeks, said Vassilis Karastathis, the director of Athens’s Geodynamic Institute.
“We are monitoring the evolution of the phenomenon and will have a much clearer picture in the 48 hours after the event,” he told Kathimerini on Monday night. “The most likely, though, is that we’ll see a string of small quakes over the next couple of days.”
His colleague at the institute, seismologist Gerasimos Houliarakis told Skai TV that such an event was expected from the area, which may still yield another tremor in the region of 4.5 Richter over the coming days.
“Such earthquakes do not cause problems, just concern; it’s normal,” he said.
