Strong aftershocks to last for weeks after Samos quake

Last Friday’s devastating 6.7 magnitude earthquake, which claimed the lives of two children on the island of Samos and more than 60 people in Turkey, will be followed by a series of powerful aftershocks in the coming weeks, according to seismologists who pinpoint its origin to a 40-kilometer fault line.

“It is a known fault, which can produce earthquakes up to this magnitude,” Akis Tselentis, director of the capital’s Geodynamic Institute, told Kathimerini, adding that the coming weeks are crucial in terms of “the evolution of the post-seismic sequence.”

“We must be prepared for strong aftershocks,” he said. He added that those whose homes were damaged should await an inspection by an engineer before moving back in.

Thanasis Ganas, the institute’s director of research, said the earthquake, which also caused a small tsunami caused a displacement of 1.5-2 meters of the crust on both sides of the fault.