Top earthquake expert to assess activity in Thiva first-hand

One of Greece’s pre-eminent authorities on earthquakes headed to central Greece on Wednesday for as first-hand assessment of a fresh spike in seismic activity in and around the town of Thiva.

Akis Tselentis, a professor of geophysics and director of the Athens-based Geodynamic Institute, and his team will tour the area for two days and meet with local officials, who are growing increasingly alarmed by the successive earthquakes that have been rattling the area off and on for more than a year.

The team will also be installing seismic monitors in the seaside town of Halkida, east of Thiva, and in Livadia in the foothills of Mount Paranssos to the northwest, to get a clearer picture of the situation in the wider vicinity.

“The seismic activity will probably abate soon, but we are being cautious because of the area’s history,” Tselentis said in comments to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency on Wednesday, noting a rash of earthquakes in the period between 1977-1981 that reached a magnitude of as high as 6.2 on the Richter scale.

According to experts, more than 3,000 tremors – all small to moderate – have been recorded in and around Thiva in the past 14 months, with some seismologists expressing concerns that they may be leading up to a bigger event.