Major Earthquake Rocks Greece: 5.1 Magnitude Tremor Near Athens Highlights Ongoing Seismic Activity

Recent Seismic Event Shakes Greek Capital Region

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake has struck near Nea Styra, a coastal town on the Greek island of Evia. The tremor occurred at a depth of approximately 7 miles and was centered roughly 40 miles southeast of Athens, where residents felt the shake, though no immediate damage or injuries were reported.

Impact and Regional Context

Nea Styra, located on the southern tip of Evia, Greece’s second-largest island, is known for its beaches, fishing harbor, and ferry connection to mainland Attica. The affected region features a diverse landscape of rugged mountains, dense pine forests, olive groves, and traditional villages.

In the past 24 hours alone, Greece has experienced significant seismic activity, with 121 recorded earthquakes. This includes 1 quake of magnitude 3.0, 36 quakes between 2.0 and 3.0, and 84 smaller tremors below magnitude 2.0 that typically go unnoticed by residents.

Greece’s Seismic Profile

Greece maintains its position as one of Europe’s most seismically active nations, situated at the complex boundary between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates. While most earthquakes are moderate and cause minimal damage, the country experiences thousands of small quakes annually. Areas of particular seismic risk include Crete, the Ionian Islands, and the Aegean Sea, with even Athens experiencing significant seismic events in recent decades.

Monitoring and Response

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), an international non-profit NGO with over 70 member institutes worldwide, provides real-time earthquake information. They maintain a sophisticated system for rapid collection, determination, and dissemination of earthquake parameters, utilizing both seismic data from institutes and crowdsourced information from earthquake eyewitnesses.