October 30, 2020 Earthquake: Izmir, Samos, Turkey, Greece

Ref #13456:

At least 117 people killed, including one killed by a tsunami at Seferihisar, 1,034 injured and widespread damage occurred in Izmir, Turkey. Two people killed, 19 injured and 100 buildings damaged on Nisi Samos, Greece.

Tectonic Summary

The October 30, 2020, M 7.0 earthquake offshore Samos Island, Greece, occurred as the result of normal faulting at a shallow crustal depth within the Eurasia tectonic plate in the eastern Aegean Sea. The focal mechanism solution indicates that the earthquake occurred on a moderately dipping normal fault striking either eastward or westward. This mechanism indicates north-south oriented extension that is common in the Aegean Sea. Tectonics in the region surrounding this earthquake are relatively complex; to the south, Africa (Nubia) lithosphere subducts northward beneath the Eurasia plate at the Hellenic Trench; to the east, the Anatolian microplate moves in a general westward direction, driving right-lateral faulting along its northern boundary, the North Anatolian Fault, and left-lateral faulting in southeast Turkey. The Aegean Sea region, western Turkey, and southern Greece where the October 30 earthquake occurred overall experiences north-south extension that is driven by southward migration of the Hellenic Trench.

In western Turkey and the Aegean Sea region, historic earthquakes demonstrate a mixture of transtensional and extensional faulting focal mechanism solutions. The October 30, 2020 earthquake produced nearly pure normal faulting, and is broadly consistent with past earthquakes in the region. The location of the October 30, 2020 event is about 250 km north of the closest main plate boundary, where the Africa plate moves to the north at a rate of approximately 10 mm/yr with respect to Eurasia

The Aegean Sea frequently experiences moderate to large earthquakes, and the region within 250 km of the October 30, 2020 earthquake has hosted 29 other M 6+ events over the preceding 100 years. The largest instrumentally documented earthquake in the region was a M 7.7 earthquake in July 1956 between the islands of Naxos and Santorini (Thera), and southwest of the October 30, 2020 earthquake. The 1956 earthquake was the largest earthquake of the 20th century in Greece. As a result of this 1956 event, a M 7.2 aftershock occurred 13 minutes later with an accompanying large tsunami, 53 fatalities, 100 injuries, and extensive damage in Amorgos and nearby Santorini. More recently, on July 20 2017 a M 6.6 earthquake occurred southeast of the October 30, 2020 event near Bodrum, Turkey, and resulted in 2 fatalities and hundreds of injuries reported in Greece and Turkey.

Ref #12798, 12801, 12803, 12804, 12805, 12810:

114 people killed in Turkey. Injured 1,035 people in Izmir. 17 damaged or collapsed buildings had been completed and teams were clearing the rubble. 22 boats had sunk and 43 others had run aground, of which 40 had been rescued, as a result of the quake. The death toll in the disaster increased to 116 after one of the hospitalized survivors succumbed to her injuries.

Two teenagers were killed on the island Samos after being struck by a collapsing wall.

Ref #13027 report for Samos:

11 [schools] have suffered extensive damage [...] over 60 churches on the island were severely damaged by the earthquake.

Ref #1250:

Samos (Greece): 2 deaths, 19 injured; Izmir Bornova, Bayrakli and Karsiyaka (Turkey): 115 deaths, 1034 injured, 400 m USD damage

Ref #13077:

nearly 630 buildings heavily damaged […] milder damage to 605 building and nearly 8,000 structures suffered little damage

Ref #13932:

earthquake caused 118 fatalities and over a thousand injuries on the Turkish side, as well as two deaths and 19 minor injuries at Samos Is, Greece […] 9506 structures in the city were reported damaged 9803 heavy, 814 moderate, 7889 slight0