Seismologists clash over leaked warning
Greek seismologists publicly clashed yesterday after media reports claimed that experts had predicted a serious earthquake threat to northern Greece in the immediate future. The Committee for the Assessment of Earthquake Danger said that any assertion of an impending earthquake was «unreliable.» «The committee processes reports submitted to it, provided they contain clear and scientifically substantiated data from which a prediction can be drawn,» committee Chairman Vassilis Papazachos said yesterday. «So far, the committee has received no data to justify a short-term prediction regarding an earthquake in any part of Greece.» This followed the assertion by Alpha TV’s Makis Triandafyllopoulos that the committee had received advance notification of a major quake. This was also carried in the Espresso tabloid newspaper. The media claims, which followed a leaked report to the committee, prompted seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos of the Athens University Geodynamic Institute to call on committee members to resign. «The committee’s work is very important,» he said. «However, for years we have witnessed systematic leaks of data which is submitted to the committee for evaluation. These leaks reduce the committee’s credibility, and, as a result, the committee is unable to convince the general public of its efficiency. So the entire committee should resign.» Meanwhile, the area of Agrinio in western Greece was shaken yesterday by a medium-sized quake that registered 4.0 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was 242 kilometers west-northwest of Athens, close to Lake Amvrakia. No injuries or damage were reported.
