The large earthquake of magnitude 4.9, which occurred half an hour after midnight on Wednesday, in Cyprus, centered on Paphos, fortunately did not cause any injuries or damage to property, but caused intense concern among citizens due to its size, since was felt almost all over the island.
READ HERE: Two aftershocks were recorded after the main earthquake of 4 .9 Richter
The Department of Geological Survey, wanting to reassure the public, emphasized that in the last thirty years there have been eight earthquakes that fluctuated at the same levels as Wednesday's earthquake, and therefore there are no particular reasons for citizens to be concerned.
Furthermore, the area where the earthquake occurred is one of the three major faults recorded in Cyprus and it is expected that earthquakes will occur in this area from time to time, while the other two faults are located in the areas of Limassol and Paralimni.
According to the Department of Geological Survey, our country is located in the seismic zone of the Alps-Himalayas, in which 15% of earthquakes occur worldwide. The seismicity of Cyprus is mainly attributed to the “Cyprus Arc”, as it is called, which is the tectonic boundary between the African and Eurasian lithospheric plates in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
The African plate moves north towards the Eurasian plate resulting in the collision of the two plates and the subduction of the African plate under the Anatolian microplate, part of the Eurasian plate where Cyprus is also located.
READ HERE: The earthquake was felt throughout Cyprus – The phenomenon is being monitored
The “Cyprus Arc” is essentially divided into three parts, with its western part located in Akamas and showing the most intense activity with intermediate depth earthquakes up to 130km.
The central part occurs south of Cyprus and also exhibits intense seismicity, mainly with surface earthquakes, while the third, which is the eastern part of the arc and is defined as “the Latakia Fault”, is a counterclockwise strike-slip fault and exhibits low seismicity with absence of intermediate depth earthquakes, possibly due to non-active subduction.
In fact, the most intense seismicity of Cyprus is observed in the central-western part of the “Cyprus Arc” and on land faults in Paphos, Limassol and Larnaca.
According to the data of the Department, in the last hundred years there have been fifty earthquakes of more than 5 degrees on the Richter scale, which repeat every two years on average. Earthquakes up to 5.5 Richter were recorded 17 times, with recurrence every six years.
Earthquakes measuring up to 6 on the Richter scale were just six, with an average of one every 17 years, while major earthquakes over 6.5 on the Richter scale were just two, with an average of 52 years. Finally, those above 7 Richter are estimated to occur 0.7 times every 153 years.
READ HERE: Citizens were disturbed by the earthquake in the area of Pafos-No report of damage
The earthquake that caused a tsunami
The deadliest earthquake in the modern history of Cyprus was recorded in Paphos province on September 10, 1953 and measured 6.1 on the Richter scale.
A total of 40 people died, 100 were injured and 4000 were left homeless. Over 150 villages were affected, with most of the damage caused by landslides.
Within seconds, 1,600 houses were destroyed, while another 10,000 properties and public buildings suffered various damages. Five villages (Stroumbi, Kidasi, Lapithiou, Axylou, Fasoula) were turned into ruins and another 105 had minor damage.
The human losses would have been much greater if many farmers had not been in the fields at that time. In addition to Paphos, significant damage was also recorded in Limassol. In fact, a small tsunami affected the coast of Paphos.
Video document by British Pathe records the damage and the anxiety of the residents to find survivors among the ruins.