“Monday’s Peloponnese” had the honor of speaking with the well-known seismology professor about the Corinthian Gulf. He confirmed his concerns that sooner or later, probably, a strong earthquake is coming to our parts! How powerful, no one can predict. Mr. Papadopoulos also sends, indirectly, a message to mayors, regional governors and senior public officials to be constantly awake to inform the public and take preventive measures.

-You cut off our legs, Mr. Papadopoulos… I understand that you are almost certain that sooner or later we will move very strongly and perhaps even dangerously… Is that right?

Corinthian is well known to be a natural earthquake laboratory and this is known worldwide. Many research groups both from Greece and from all over the world are working on earthquake issues with the Corinthian axis. Strong earthquakes, over magnitude 6, are common. On average they recur every 25 to 30 years and this is from records we have from 1850 onwards. What does this mean about average? Sometimes we may have two successive stations in a shorter time and sometimes in a slightly longer time. So sooner or later, we cannot predict exactly when, a strong earthquake will happen again in the Corinthian Gulf. We are at 27 years now… Ah, we are waiting for him. This is something that all scientists accept. Yes, we must be prepared. As in other regions of the country.

-When you say strong earthquake, I assume over 6 on the Richter scale?

Yes, we are talking about 6-year-olds and above, because they are the ones we are mainly concerned with, they are the most harmful.

-Which part of the Gulf of Corinth worries you the most? Or are all the pieces the same?

First of all, Corinthiakos is not a very large area. Its length is 120 kilometers. However, from previous studies, the most active part is the western part. That is, the area between Aegion, Eratini, Akrata. This section is more active in seismic excitation than the east. More active means it gives earthquakes more often. It is not just my personal opinion, but a generally accepted opinion by the scientific community.

-In terms of prevention, what would you recommend, Mr. Papadopoulos? But I would like to focus on a purely realistic level. I mean in “things” that we can do practically and immediately and not in unattainable ones…

The network of actions that could reduce, not eliminate, the negative consequences of a major earthquake include: First, informing the population and educating them, especially in schools, for obvious reasons. Young children have no experience of such situations and need to learn more.

Secondly, emergency plans, which the municipalities are obliged by law to have prepared, so that when they are needed, they are up to date. It should not be plans from a decade ago and we put it in the drawer.

Third, the constant monitoring by us scientists. One will now ask: And what will we gain by continuous monitoring? I answer you. In some cases it has turned out that strong earthquakes have aftershocks, which a few months or weeks before, indicate that the main earthquake is coming. For example, what we saw 4 months before the Arkalochori earthquake in Crete. Four months before, the earthquakes had begun. And three months before, the earthquake risk assessment committee was convened as an emergency. We assessed the situation and said then that we were not absolutely sure that the main earthquake would follow, but it was very likely. And that’s why we recommended measures that a municipality can take, in collaboration with the Region.

And one last thing: The pre-earthquake control of public buildings, with priority in schools and hospitals, because they have the most sensitive populations. A week ago, an updated piece of legislation was passed on how to make pre-earthquake inspections more organized. Who is responsible for these checks? Not, of course, a ministry that will take over thousands of buildings throughout Greece. It is the respective public body that owns the building. Is it a school? The municipality. Is it a hospital? The Ministry of Health and the Ministry.

You can’t stop the earthquake. It will happen anyway. The point is to do what is necessary to reduce the potential negative consequences.

-This earthquake we are waiting for in Corinth, whenever it happens, will it also cause a tsunami?

It is possible, but not certain. In our science certainties are minimal.

-Depends on what;

If the earthquake is in the sea or even in the coastal area, and it is from 6 and above, then there are significant chances of causing a tsunami. Gulf of Corinth tsunamis have the property of not being able to propagate over a long distance. That is, if an earthquake occurs in the western part, the dangerous part, it does not have much possibility to also go to the eastern part because we are talking about a closed basin. But be careful: Possible tsunamis in the Corinthian are local, but also strong, strong. That’s why it needs a lot of attention.

-What kind of attention do you mean?

I will give you a simple example, for the whole world. We are in a coastal area in summer or winter. We feel a strong earthquake. We do not expect any other information from anyone. We immediately move away from the coast, because the tsunami can come in minutes after the earthquake. Even if we are a little late, it may be decisive, we may not be in time. And we go directly either as far as we can to the innermost or higher floors of a building, if we are in a hotel or an apartment building near the sea. And we don’t come back to see what happened. We will be away for 3-4 hours. Let any danger pass.

-One last thing. Are the Gulf of Corinth, in what you said above, and the rift of the Alcyone Islands, in the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth, inextricably linked?

Many times there is this philology around the famous Alcyonides rift. However, the risk of earthquakes from the Gulf of Corinth is not limited to this fault. The fault has become a threat because it was activated in 1981 and caused the great earthquake. In the Corinthian Gulf, however, there are a multitude of faults that are active and which have repeatedly produced earthquakes: In Galaxidi, Eratini, Aigio, Akrata. Many cracks. So let’s not identify the Corinthian with the Alcyonids. It is not right.

Source: pelop.gr