Lesvos hit by 5.1 magnitude quake; fault activated for the first time

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos on Tuesday evening. No injuries were reported.

The Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens identified the epicenter as being 8 km east-southeast of the coastal town of Mithymna, at a depth of 14.6 km.

The tremor was also strongly felt on the nearby island of Chios and in the Turkish port city of Izmir.

Athanasios Ganas, director of research at the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens, told Kathimerini that the earthquake, which he described as shallow, strong, and underwater, was caused by a fault being activated for the first time.

“We do not know if this is the main earthquake; we need to wait. This is a fault we are seeing activated for the first time. It is different from the fault that caused the 2023 earthquakes in the Lepetymnos area of Lesvos, which reached a magnitude of up to 4.9,” Ganas explained.

Source: ekathimerini.com