Earthquakes and Volcanoes in Greece

EFFECTS OF EARTHQUAKES

• Shaking and ground rupture

• Landslides and avalanches

• Fires• Soil liquefaction• Tsunami• Floods• Human impacts

TECTONIC SETTING OF GREECE

• Greece is located at the complex boundary zone in the eastern Mediterranean between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate.

• The northern part of Greece lies on the Eurasian Plate while the southern part lies on the Aegean Sea Plate.

DATE TIME PLACE FATALITIES COMMENTS

464 BC - Sparta Up to 20,000

-

426 BC - Euboic Gulf -The historian Thucydides concluded that the tsunami was caused by the earthquake, the first to recognize such a link

226 BC - Rhodes - Toppled the Colossus of Rhodes

21/07/364 Sunrise Crete,Alexandria - Raised part of Crete 9 metres, causing severe damage and triggering a tsunami that devastated Alexandria

12/856 - Corinth 45,000 -

08/08/1303 06:00Local time

Crete,Alexandria - Triggered a major tsunami; severely damaged theLighthouse of Alexandria

03/05/1481 03:00 Rhodes 30,000 -

16/02/1810 22:15 Heraclion,Crete 2,000 -

24/05/2014 12:25 Limnos 1 -

DATE TIME PLACE FATALITIES COMMENTS

03/04/1881 11:30 Chios 7,866 -

26/09/1932 19:20 Ierissos 491 -

12/08/1953 09:24 Cephalonia,Zakynthos 476 -

09/07/1956 03:11 Dodecanese 56 Triggered a tsunami that affected the entire Aegean Sea.

20/06/1978 11:04 Thessaloniki 47 -

24/02/1981 20:53 Gulf of Corinth 22 -

07/09/1999 11:56 Athens 143 -

08/01/2006 11:34 Kythira - -

08/06/2008 12:25 Peloponesse 2 -

15/07/2008 03:26 Dodecanese 1 -

The Great Thessaloniki EarthquakeThe Great Thessaloniki Earthquake occurred on 20 June 1978 at 23:03 local time. The shock registered 6.2 on the moment magnitude scale, and was felt throughout northern Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. It was the largest earthquake in the area since 1932.

Disasters of Thessaloniki’s Earthquake

Disasters of Thessaloniki’s Earthquake

The Athens Earthquake

The 1999 Athens earthquake, registering a moment magnitude of 6.0, occurred on September 7, 1999, at 2:56:50 pm local time and lasted approximately 15 seconds in Ano Liosia.

More than 100 buildings (including three major factories) across those areas collapsed trapping scores of victims under their rubble while dozens more were severely damaged.

Overall, 143 people lost their lives and more than 2,000 were treated for injuries in what eventually became Greece's deadliest natural disaster in almost half a century.

Consequences of the Earthquake

• People after the earthquake have to live in tents or containers while waiting for their houses to get repaired. This waiting sometimes lasts for weeks ,months and maybe even years.

How to face an earthquake at school

KEEP IN MIND• Plans are of ABSOLUTELY NO USE if they

aren't known to everyone; students, staff and parents.

• Plans must be exercised periodically to refresh memories and educate newcomers.

• Demonstrations of ways to: * duck, cover and hold protect head and

body if no cover available * deal with resultant hazards (fire, injuries) * evacuate the building.• Discussions of response plan goals and

design--If all students and staff know why they are taking a particular step, they are more apt to do it with speed and commitment.

How to face an earthquake at school

• Tests of parts of the plan -- duck and cover drills, for example.

• Full-scale earthquake response exercise -- once or twice a year.

• Evaluation of the drills and exercises -- you will learn something from every drill or exercise, so make sure your plans get changed to reflect the wisdom of experience.

• You must construct your own drills to take into account the particular circumstances in your school, with your students and personnel.

Earthquake exercises at schools

Volcanoes

• A volcano is a rupture on the crust of a planetary mass object, such as the Earth, which allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.

NAME METERS FEET LAST ERUPTION

Kos 430 1411 Pleistocene

Methana 760 2493 258 BCE

Milos 751 2464 140 CE

Nisyros 698 2290 1888

Poros 80 240 Pliocene

Santorini (Kolumbo) -18 -60 1650

Santorini (Nea Kameni)

130 390 1950

Yali 180 591 Holocene

Volcano Of SantoriniThe volcano of Santorini is the most famous volcano in Greece. It has the largest caldera (crater) in the world with a height of 300m and a diameter of 11km. The special thing about this caldera is that it is actually sunken and filled with sea water. On the cliffs of the caldera, white sugar houses have been constructed offering breathtaking view.

Santorini-Nea Kameni

Boat tours depart from the old port of Fira in Santorini to the volcano, which is actually the island of Nea Kameni, formed by volcanic eruptions in the 16th century. The last eruption of the Santorini volcano was small and happened in 1950 and the volcanic is still active.

Minoan Eruption (Santorini)

Santorini

Santorini

Minoan EruptionThe Minoan eruption of Thira, also referred to as the Thira eruption or Santorini eruption, was a major catastrophic volcanic eruption with a Volcanic Explosively Index (VEI) of 6 or 7 and a dense-rock equivalent (DRE) of 60 km3 (14 cu mi), which is estimated to have occurred in the mid second millennium BCE.

Minoan EruptionThe eruption was one of the largest volcanic events on Earth in recorded history.The eruption devastated the island of Thira (also called Santorini), including the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri, as well as communities and agricultural areas on nearby islands and on the coast of Crete.

Minoan Eruption

There are no clear ancient records of the eruption, the eruption seems to have inspired certain Greek myths, may have caused turmoil in Egypt, and may be alluded to in a Chinese chronicle.

Volcano of NisurosThe second most famous volcano in Greece is located on the small island of Nisyros, Dodecanese. This is the youngest of the large volcanic centres in Greece, only 160,000 years old. Today the volcano of Nisyros is dormant. The largest crater that most tourists visit is Agios Stefanos, with a diameter and depth of 30m.

Nisyros

Volcano Of Methana

The peninsula of Methana, on Peloponnese, actually has 32 volcanoes. The volcanic activity in the peninsula started about one million years ago and in fact a large eruption took place in 230 BC. The last eruption of the Methana volcano happened in 1700.

Volcano Of Methana

Today the volcano is dormant and many hiking and climbing tours are organized in the peninsula. Due to the volcanic activity, Methana also has famous thermal springs.

Methana

Volcano Of Milos

• The volcano of Milos island is also considered dormant. It is located in the centre of the island and has given to Milos its richness in minerals and its strange geological formation. The last volcanic eruption on Milos took place in 90,000 BC.

Milos

THE END