The Athens Institute of Geodynamics recorded a Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake at a depth of 17 km close to the village of Pogoni in the Epirus Region of northwest Greece, slightly before 8.15 pm local time (slightly before 11.15 pm GMT) on Saturday 15 October 2016. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, but people have reported feeling it across much of the Greek mainland, as well as in parts of Italy, Albania and Macedonia.
The approximate location of the 15 October 2016 Epirus Earthquake. Google.
Western Greece is located on the Aegean Sea Plate, a small tectonic
plate caught between the African Plate to the south, the Anatolian Plate
to the east and the Eurasian Plate to the northwest. The Anatolian
Plate is being pushed to the west by the northward movement of the
Arabian Plate to the east, pushing the Aegean Plate south and west into
collision with the northward moving African Plate. Part of the African
Plate is being subducted beneath the Aegean Plate along the Hellenic
Trench, which runs to the south of the Greek Islands from Cyprus to
Crete then northwest under the Ionian sea parallel to the Peloponnesian
Coast. 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.
Simplified map of the plate movements of the eastern Mediterranean. Univeriteit Utrecht.
Witness
accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events,
and the structures that cause them. If you felt this event then you can report it to the Athens Institute of Geodynamics Here.
See also...
Numerous injuries after Macedonian Earthquake. The United States Geological Survey recorded
a Magnitude 5.3 Earthquake at a depth of about 4 km, about 4 km north
of the Macedonian capitol Skopje at about 3.10 pm local time about...
Deadly Earthquake kills two on the Greek Island of Lefkada. Two people have died and a further eight have been treated for injuries
following an Earthquake off the west coast of the Greek island of
Lefkada in the Ionian Sea on Tuesday 17 November...
Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake off the coast of Albania. The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake at a depth of about...
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