The first assessments of the earthquake that shook the Crete region are helping to ease concerns that arose earlier on Wednesday afternoon, with the seismic activity proving to be moderately strong. OASP president Efthymios Lekkas described it as a “positive earthquake” that does not inspire concern, following the 5.1 magnitude tremor recorded between Crete and Antikythira that was felt in areas of Crete including Chania and Heraklion. Commenting on the phenomenon to parapolitika.gr, Lekkas appeared reassuring, emphasizing that this particular earthquake is not connected to others or to a specific fault line.
The phenomenon, as it turns out according to Lekkas, does not tend to repeat itself, as no aftershock sequences or even stronger tremors are expected. The fact that the earthquake was felt, however, is due to its depth and the point where it occurred.
The seismic activity in the Crete region
Disruption occurred earlier in the Crete region when the earthquake above 5.0 magnitude was felt. Initially, estimates showed the tremor at up to 5.3 magnitude, but subsequently the revised solution from the Geodynamic Institute showed 5.1 magnitude.
The earthquake’s epicenter was in the sea area 22 kilometers southeast of Antikythira, while its focal depth is located at 58.6 kilometers.
After the tremor was perceived, residents came out onto the streets, while the state mechanism was activated to remain on standby.
So far, however, both the “100” and “199” telephone centers have not received calls about trapped people, victims, or damage. Nevertheless, there appear to be some small landslides that currently do not seem to affect movements or cause problems to houses.
For the next few hours, patrol and fire vehicles will be on the streets in an effort to help those in need, while searches will also be conducted on beaches in Eastern Crete to check for trapped people or problems from landslides.
