Three monasteries affected by earthquake on Mount Athos

An earthquake on Athos. Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr

On Monday, September 22, at 04:19 AM, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale occurred on Mount Athos, reports orthodoxianewsagency.gr.

Minor damages were recorded in three monasteries on Mount Athos: the Monasteries of Hilandar, Dochiariou, and mainly the Monastery of Iviron.

The epicenter of the underground tremor was located 7 km northwest of Karyes, the administrative center of Mount Athos. The focus was at a depth of about 5 km, reports the Geodynamic Institute of Athens.

The Chairman of the Organization for Anti-Seismic Planning of Greece (ΟΑSP), Professor Efthymios Lekkas, noted on ERTNews channel that there is no reason for panic, but scientists are closely monitoring the situation.

According to Lekkas, more than 1,000 earthquakes have been recorded in the region since the beginning of 2024, ten of which exceeded a magnitude of 4. The strongest tremor occurred three months ago with a magnitude of 5.2.

"We are observing a rare and quite persistent phenomenon that has been ongoing for 18 months. The rift that caused these earthquakes had not manifested before and was only identified thanks to modern instruments. It seems to retain energy, but we do not expect tremors above 5.2," explained the expert.

The scientist emphasized that it is an underwater fault, partially extending into land, whose parameters are difficult to determine.

"We cannot investigate the intentions of nature. They are phenomena that we approach with great difficulty. It is not something that we see, a cloud coming or bad weather or something else that is immediately visible so that we can make safe predictions. Everything we know, we know based on instrumental recordings, which often do not correspond to the developments that exist underground and we interpret based on what we see in seismograms and other recordings," he added.

In conclusion, he expressed confidence that seismic activity will continue with small magnitudes, posing no serious threat to Mount Athos and its inhabitants.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Athos temples and monasteries were affected by an 5.3-magnitude earthquake.

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