November 17, 2015 Earthquake: Lefkada, Kefalonia, Ithaca, Greece

Two people killed, 4 injured, extensive damage, roads damaged and landslides occurred on Lefkada. Felt at Agrinio, Aktaio, Amfilochia, Athens, Ayioi Anaryiroi, Filothei, Ioannina, Ithaki, Keratsini, Kato Korakiana, Kerkyra, Megala Kalyvia, Nydri, Palaio Faliro, Patra, Preveza and Zografos. Also felt at Delvine, Albania. Leukas, Levkás, Greece - CDI: 7; Nidrion, Levkas, Greece - CDI: 7; Ithaki, Kefallinia, Greece - CDI: 5 Agrinion, Aitolia kai Akarnania, Greece - CDI: 5 Preveza, Preveza, Greece - CDI: 4

Tectonic Summary

The November 17, 2015 M 6.5 earthquake northwest of Nidri, Greece, occurred as the result of strike slip faulting on or near the regional plate boundary between the Nubia (Africa) and Eurasia plates. At the location of this earthquake, Nubia converges with Eurasia at a rate of 9mm/yr towards the north-northwest. Nubian lithosphere subducts beneath the Aegean Sea along the Hellenic Arc, to the south of Crete and southeast of the November 17 earthquake. Farther west, plate motion becomes more oblique as the plate boundary rotates clockwise, until the boundary is dominantly transform in the region of this earthquake. Preliminary focal mechanisms for the earthquake indicate it occurred as the result of either northwest striking, left-lateral faulting or northeast striking, right-lateral slip; left-lateral faulting would be consistent with the orientation of the local plate boundary. Right-lateral faulting would also be consistent with other regional, non-plate boundary faults in the region; further studies of this event will be required to determine the causative faulting structure.

The region surrounding Greece is frequently impacted by moderate-to-large earthquakes like the November 17, 2015 event, and 14 other earthquakes of M6.5 or larger have occurred within 250 km of the November 17 event over the last century. The largest was a M 7.0 in January 1983, 85 km to the south, which did not cause any known fatalities. A M 6.3 event in August 2003, just 20 km to the north-northwest, also did not result in any known fatalities, though a M 6.5 earthquake in June 1995, 160 km to the east of the November 17, 2015 event, resulted in over 20 fatalities and 60 injuries.

(above ref #13456)

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of at least 6.1 hit the western Greek island of Lefkada on Tuesday, killing two people and causing extensive damage to infrastructure and buildings on Lefkada and nearby islands. The temblor was felt across western Greece […] with people on Lefkada and the nearby Ionian Sea island of Kefalonia rushing out onto the streets... Greek authorities were struggling to assess the damage, their efforts hampered by landslides that blocked Lefkada's network of narrow, mountainous roads. The fire department said an 82-year-old woman was killed in the village of Athani when a wall collapsed on her. And a 69-year-old woman died in her home in another village when a boulder loosened by the earthquake tumbled down onto her house. Four people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. State ERT TV said part of the harbor of Vassiliki in the worst-hit southwestern part of the island was submerged in the sea […] Authorities said several houses were badly damaged on Kefalonia and Ithaca. (ref #11305)

Roads in the south-east of the Ionian island, closest to the earthquake's epicentre in the sea, and several stone houses, have been damaged, Kaliforis said. A church also collapsed. (ref #11311)

On Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 07:10:07 (UTC) a strong earthquake struck Lefkas Island (Ionian Sea, Western Greece) with magnitude Mw 6.4, depth of about 6 km and epicenter located 20 km southwest of Lefkas town. It was felt in Lefkas Island and the surrounding region and caused the death of two people, the injury of eight others, many earthquake environmental effects and damage to buildings and infrastructures. (ref #13477)