Thiva tremors keeping scientists on high alert 

Concerned about the ongoing seismic activity in Thiva, central Greece, scientists are investigating whether the hundreds of quakes that have occurred in the area since last Friday are part of a swarm or a harbinger of a stronger one.

The largest of these quakes was 4.3 on the Richter scale, according to Thanasis Ganas, director of research at the National Observatory’s Geodynamics Institute.

“We are considering two possibilities. The first is that it is a swarm, which will continue to produce earthquakes of medium or small strength and will gradually ease. The second is that it is a pre-earthquake sequence with a stronger event to follow,” he told Kathimerini, adding that what make scientists optimistic is that neither the location of the earthquakes nor their magnitude has changed.

The fault, he said, runs from east to west near the town of Thiva to the village of Eleonas, while additional seismographs have been installed in the area.