Earthquakes Continue to Shake the Cyclades, Experts Monitor Declining Activity

Earthquakes continue to shake the Cyclades.

Between 00:52 and 10:16 Greek Time (EET) on February 8, a series of at least 51 earthquakes shook the Aegean Sea, according to data from the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens. The tremors, ranging in magnitude from 1.9 to 4.4, were concentrated south-southwest of Arkesini, Amorgos, near Anafi, and northeast of Santorini.

The most powerful earthquake in this sequence struck at 03:52 EET, measuring magnitude 4.4 at a depth of 10 km, centered 17 km south-southwest of Arkesini, Amorgos. This was followed by two additional magnitude 4.1 tremors at 05:08 and 05:11 EET, both occurring 26 km south-southwest of Arkesini.

Several more moderate earthquakes also punctuated the sequence. A magnitude 3.8 event occurred at 00:20 EET, with a depth of 22.8 km, making it the deepest recorded quake of the swarm. Other notable tremors included a magnitude 3.2 at 23:52 EET, a magnitude 3.1 at 23:09 EET, and multiple magnitude 3.0 events recorded shortly after midnight.

The majority of the earthquakes were clustered around Arkesini, Amorgos, where depths ranged between 7 km and 15 km, with a few deeper tremors exceeding 15 km. The Anafi region also experienced several smaller earthquakes, primarily in the magnitude 2.0 to 3.3 range. Northeast of Santorini, three earthquakes were recorded, the strongest reaching magnitude 2.7 at a depth of 9 km.

Out of the 51 recorded quakes, three were above magnitude 4.0, 20 ranged from magnitude 3.0 to 3.9, and 26 fell in the magnitude 2.0 to 2.9 range.

The National & Kapodistrian University of Athens on Friday announced that more than 8,900 earthquakes were recorded in the Santorini-Amorgos axis in the southern Aegean since Jan. 26.

However, the overall seismic activity in the area appears to be gradually decreasing, based on data from both conventional methods and artificial intelligence analysis, according to a statement from the Interdisciplinary Committee for Risk and Crisis Management at the National University of Athens.

On Saturday , Greece’s seismic and volcanic risk committees are set to meet to review the latest data and make recommendations to the authorities. Scientists are also expected to advise on whether schools should remain open.