A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck Mount Athos in the early hours of Monday, September 22, raising concern among scientists monitoring the area’s unusual seismic activity.
According to Efthymis Lekkas, president of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (OASP), this marks the tenth earthquake above magnitude 4 to hit the region in the past 18 months. Since early 2024, more than 1,000 tremors have been recorded, with the strongest—a magnitude 5.2—occurring three months ago.
“We are not worried, but from a scientific point of view, we are concerned,” Lekkas told ERT, describing the phenomenon as “rather strange” given its persistence.
He explained that the fault responsible had shown no previous seismic activity before 2024. It is a newly identified, deep-seated underwater fault that extends slightly onto land but is not visible on the surface. “We are now confirming its existence through instrumental data,” he said.
While stressing the difficulty of predicting such natural processes, Lekkas ruled out the likelihood of stronger quakes. “It seems that the fault still has energy within it, but I don’t believe we will exceed magnitude 5.2,” he noted. “I believe the process will continue with small magnitudes, but not to a level that would cause particular concern.”
Concluding on a reassuring note, he added: “We are awaiting the activity, and I believe everything will go well.”
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