The magnitude Mw 5.8 earthquake recorded off the coast of Greece, in the Peloponnese at 8.12 am Italian time was caused by the compression of the Ionian tectonic plate with the Greek one: this was explained by Carlo Doglioni, president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology . Data from the INGV Operations Room in Rome indicate that the quake occurred at a depth of 33 km, with an epicenter approximately 40 km from the Greek coast. Among the closest cities is Pyrgos to the north-east, the island of Zakynthos to the north-west.
“A shock due to the compressive front of the Hellenic chain – said Doglioni – where the Ionian pushes and descends under Greece. A compression that is expressed with tremors along a line that passes from Albania passing through the various Ionian islands, Corfu, up to Crete, with earthquakes that can exceed significant magnitudes”. Region which had recorded a ML 4.6 shock on 22 March and which is part of these seismic dynamics. Activities that do not directly involve the Italian territory, including Puglia “which is a different geological region, a separate and independent tectonic plate. Even if in 1743 a major earthquake occurred near Nardò whose origins we don’t really know”, added President Ingv. Finally, there is no apparent link with a magnitude 3.8 shock recorded in the morning in southern Bulgaria, located by regional sources 57 km from Plovdiv, at a depth of nine km. “Events of this magnitude are very frequent – concluded Doglioni – in Italy they are recorded at least every two days, it is difficult to find connections”.
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