Magnitude 4.9 earthquake strikes off Greece’s Amorgos island

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Greece’s Amorgos island on Monday, marking the strongest tremor since Sunday evening’s magnitude 5.0 event, as seismic activity continues in the Cyclades region.

The earthquake occurred at 1:23 p.m. local time, with its epicentre located 11 kilometres southwest of Arkesini at a depth of 17.7 kilometres, the Athens Geodynamic Institute reported.

The tremor was felt in Athens, while the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Institute measured it at magnitude 4.8.

Two aftershocks of magnitudes 4.0 and 4.3 followed the main shock. Earlier, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake was recorded in the same area at 12:27 p.m. at a depth of 12.9 kilometres.

Seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos noted on Monday that the seismic sequence between Santorini and Amorgos is showing signs of transitioning to an aftershock phase, following the strongest earthquake of magnitude 5.2 recorded on February 5.

#Earthquake (#σεισμός) possibly felt 31 sec ago in #Greece. Felt it? Tell us via:
📱https://t.co/QMSpuj6Z2H
🌐https://t.co/AXvOM7I4Th
🖥https://t.co/wPtMW5ND1t
⚠ Automatic crowdsourced detection, not seismically verified yet. More info soon! pic.twitter.com/3FSa8PAaGq

— EMSC (@LastQuake) February 10, 2025

“We’re seeing a relative decrease in earthquakes above magnitude 3.0 and a slight drop in average magnitude”, Papadopoulos said, adding that there were no indications of increased volcanic risk in the area.

However, Vasilis Karastathis, Deputy Director of the Athens Observatory’s Geodynamic Institute, cautioned that the situation remains dynamic.

“Magnitude 5 earthquakes are expected and will continue, though becoming less frequent”, he told ANT1 television, adding that the possibility of a larger earthquake cannot be technically ruled out.