Expert reassuring on post-earthquake activity in Athens
Seismic activity in the wake of the 5.1-Richter tremor that rattled the Greek capital last Friday appears to point to a gradual release of pressure on the fault that produced the earthquake, an expert has said.
Post-earthquake activity has been “smooth,” Thanasis Ganas, head of research at the Athens-based Geodynamic Institute, told Kathimerini on Monday, adding, however, that it is still too early to draw any “safe conclusions.”
“We are monitoring the phenomenon and I believe that we will be able to come to safe conclusions within the next few days,” Ganas said.
He added that three new seismographs have been installed at the monitoring station of Athens University's Department of Geophysics near the quake's epicenter in Thriasio, northwest of the capital, to keep a close record of activity in the area.
No serious injuries have been reported as a result of Friday's quake, and damage seems to be restricted to a few old and neglected buildings.
In central Athens, the municipal authority has ordered the demolition of 13 such buildings, while also shutting down three day-care centers as they are more thoroughly checked for structural damage.
Two buildings collapsed in Drapetsona in Piraeus and in Athens' Petralona district during the quake on Friday, while technical crews have since recorded limited damage to buildings in Athens' downtown Monastiraki district, in the western suburb of Egaleo and at the port of Piraeus.
