Athens struck by 5.3-magnitude earthquake

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck near Athens at a depth of 10 kilometers on Friday, July 19, 2019.

The incident occurred at 2:13pm local time. The shock is associated with a NW-SE striking normal fault located at about 22 kilometers away from the center of Athens. The maximum Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) was observed in a region near the port of Athens (Piraias) and was equal to 0.16g. The strongest aftershock, with a magnitude of 4.3, occurred about 1 hour after the initial event.

The total duration of the temblor was 15 seconds and it was strongly felt in the entire Attica region. People evacuated the buildings and some companies allowed the employees to return home. Two abandoned structures collapsed but fortunately, there were no victims. "There are no reports of serious injuries. There are confirmed reports of building damage in some areas of Attica," Stelios Petsas, a government spokesman, stated.

However, the structural damage reported in the city's buildings was minor. Most structures in Athens, especially those constructed recently, are designed to withstand severe seismic shocks. "There is no reason for concern. The capital's buildings are built to withstand a much stronger earthquake," Dr. Efthymios Lekkas, Professor at the Department of Dynamic, Tectonic and Applied Geology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and head of the Earthquake Protection Agency, said.

Residents stated that the earthquake was short but strong. Despite the fact that there was no severe structural damage, some reported material damage as objects fell from shelves. People also reported limited power outages and communication issues. The fire department received many calls, mainly concerning people trapped in elevators. 

The Greek Ministry of Infrastructure is currently conducting buildings inspections in order to examine the impact of the quake and to evaluate their structural integrity. People who have identified any damage on their residences were alerted to contact the authorities.

The temblor occurred about 20 years after a 6.0-magnitude shock devastated Athens in September 1999. Back then, more than 70,000 buildings were damaged, 700 people were injured and 143 were reported dead. The epicenter of the earthquake was about 17km northwest of Athens near the Mount of Parnitha. Gerasimos Papadopoulos, director of research at the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens, stated that the fault line of the current shock is linked to that one of the 1999 earthquake.