The latest in a series of earthquakes to shake the Greek island of Crete, this morning’s 4.7 magnitude tremor shook our offices in Heraklion. After the tremor yesterday, Crete citizens were quietly alarmed here in the city after a stronger quake hit yesterday.
Centered 70 km northeast of the island’s capital in Heraklion, the earthquake occurred at 07:57:08.7 UTC. Recorded at a depth of 55 km, the deep quake is the latest in a series of moderate tremors to hit Greece and Crete this summer.
According to the National Observators in Athens, the 4.7 magnitude event occurred 67 Km SSE from Santorini. In the last 30 days, there have been over 30 earthquakes recorded, and this is the 4th tremor registered for Crete in the last 24 hours.
Greece ranks 6th in the world for the frequency of seismic activity, and first in Europe in the damage caused by earthquakes. This is due to some unique geological characteristics, caused by the movements of the tectonic plates in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
The area most prone is along the coast of western Greece to the far west of Crete. Interestingly, the latest activity seems to have been to the east of this region. This analysis at Greek Reporter of the tectonic activity reveals the complexity of the seismic activity in the eastern Mediterranean.
