The Athens Institute of Geodynamics reported a Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake at a depth of 1.8 km roughly 31 km to the southwest of the city of Trikala in northwest Thessaly, Greece, slightly after 10.10 am local time (slightly after 7.10 am GMT) on Friday 31 August 2018. There are no reports of any injuries associated with this event, but it is reported to have triggered a number of small landslides, blocking several rural roads.
Debris from a landslide triggered by an Earthquake in blocking a road in Thessally, Greece, on 31 August 2018. Ekathimerini.
Thessaly is near the boundary between the Aegean Sea Plate, which
underlies southern Greece, and the African Plate, which underlies most
of the Mediterranean. The African Plate is moving northward relative to
the Aegean Sea Plate, and is being subducted beneath it along the
Hellenic Trench, which runs from the Ionian Sea to the south and west of
the Peloponnese and then to the south of Crete. This is not a smooth process, as the plates frequently stick together
then break apart once the pressure has built up sufficiently, leading to
(fairly frequent) Earthquakes.
Witness
accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events,
and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit
organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.
See also...
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