July 20, 2017 Earthquake: Kos, Bodrum, Datca, Greece, Turkey

Two people killed, more than 120 injured; extensive damage, including main port; roads cracked on Kos. At least 360 people injured and walls cracked in Bodrum, Turkey. Kos, Dodekanisos, Greece - CDI: 7; Ziparion, Dodekanisos, Greece - CDI: 7; Bodrum, Mugla, Turkey - CDI: 6; Selçuk, Izmir, Turkey - CDI: 5; Kremasti, Dodekanisos, Greece - CDI: 5(ref #13456)

A powerful overnight earthquake shook holiday resorts in Greece and Turkey, injuring nearly 500 people and leaving two tourists dead on the Greek island of Kos, where revelers at a bar were crushed in a building collapse. Some of the injuries were caused as tourists and local residents scrambled out of buildings and even leapt from balconies after the 6.5-magnitude quake struck at about 1:30 am local time. Several hundred thousand vacationers and locals in the two countries were kept awake by dozens of aftershocks that followed the main quake, with many sleeping outdoors on sunbeds or slumped on cafe tables. Authorities on Kos said the two dead tourists were from Sweden and Turkey. Thirteen others injured were airlifter to other Greek hospitals, include a foreign national who had to have a leg amputated and another with life-threatening head injuries. In neighboring Turkey, authorities said some 350 people were hurt, most with light injuries as they fled buildings. Seismologists said the shallow depth of the quake was to blame for the damage and a 60 cm sea swell that scattered cars, boats, and trash bins across shorelines in the east Aegean Sea. (ref #11848)

The earthquake happened in Gokova Bay on July 21, 2017 at 01:31 local time (22:31 UTC) at 36.9620N 27.4053E (KOERI), with the moment magnitude of Mw=6.6 (Ml= 6.2) at a depth of 5km. The epicenter is about 12km ENE of Kos, Greece and 8 km SSW of Bodrum, Turkey. The earthquake was highly felt in Southwestern Aegean Region, especially in Mugla Province. The fault mechanism calculations reveal that the earthquake occurred with a normal faulting (ref #11858)

the 2017 Mw 6.6 event occurred as an intraplate earthquake in the Aegean Sea region within the Anatolian microplate which is part of the Eurasian Plate. According to Kurt et al. (1999), the epicentral area is under a N-S extensional tectonic regime which is most probably attributed to the westerly escape of the Anatolian plate in response to the collision of the African, Eurasian, and Arab plates. (ref #12056)

The earthquake Mw6.6 (macroseismic intensity VIII, ESI-07 scale) that occurred on July 20, 2017 at 22:31 UTC (01:31 local time) in Gokova Bay, SE Aegean Sea, induced minor damages to contemporary structures at the island of Kos, Greece, while severe damages were reported on Venetian and Ottoman-era constructions, causing two deaths. Focusing on the island of Kos, secondary effects were reported in the eastern part, including liquefaction- related phenomena and tsunami[...]Liquefaction-induced lateral spreading caused severe structural damages at the waterfront area of the city of Kos[...]The majority of the documented liquefaction related failures was located at the waterfront area of the city of Kos. In particular, the new port and the custom buildings were strongly affected, resulting to the loss of their functionality. At the main pier, a subsidence of up to 35 cm and tilting of the lighthouse were documented. Cracks parallels to the seashore were reported in the old harbor of the city behind the quay wall with horizontal displacement up to 10 cm and up to 35 cm vertical offset. Liquefaction manifestations were reported in cape Louros, an area covered by Holocene age coastal deposits. (ref #12410)