“Lake Trichonida is known for its seismic activity, as in April 2007 we experienced a series of earthquakes, with a magnitude roughly similar to today’s tremor, which lasted for two to three months,” Professor Efthymios Sokos, a geologist from the University of Patras and head of the Seismology Laboratory, stated to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, in light of today’s earthquake.

As he added, “The earthquake was caused by a fault, which is northern, northwestern, at the eastern edge of the lake,” and he continued: “It has produced a few aftershocks, not many yet, but we are waiting to see how it will evolve.”

Responding to the question of whether today’s earthquake is the main event, he told AMNA, “Given the sequence we had in 2007, where three to four quakes were recorded with magnitudes close to 5 on the Richter scale, it’s a bit premature to make predictions about the evolution of the phenomenon now.”

Moreover, Efthymios Sokos pointed out that “there are other faults in the area, which are significant, and we don’t know if they will be activated,” adding that “in 2007, they were not activated.”

“The specific fault, the northern, northwestern one,” he continued, “probably doesn’t have much potential, given that it caused the earthquakes in 2007, and only about 17 years have passed, which isn’t much time. Therefore, I estimate that we won’t see any significant development. My biggest concern is whether another fault will be activated, but for now, there’s no indication of that.”

It is worth recalling that on Saturday afternoon, a strong seismic tremor was recorded in the area.

According to the Geodynamic Institute, the earthquake had a magnitude of 4.7 Richter and a focal depth of 18.4 kilometers, with the epicenter located in Lake Trichonida, specifically 5 kilometers west-northwest of Thermo in Aetolia-Acarnania.

The seismic tremor was particularly felt in the Agrinio region, other parts of Aetolia-Acarnania, and also in Patras.

According to measurements by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, the earthquake had a magnitude of 4.9 Richter, with the epicenter located 13 kilometers east of the Kainourgio area in Agrinio, and a focal depth of 10 kilometers.

Rockfalls

The seismic tremor caused concern among the residents of Thermo and neighboring communities, as the mayor of Thermo, Spyros Konstantaras, mentioned to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

Additionally, as the mayor told AMNA, “So far, many rockfalls have been reported on the provincial road network connecting Thermo with Nafpaktos, as well as in mountainous areas.”

Furthermore, the mayor stated, “We hope this was the main earthquake, as its epicenter is in Lake Trichonida below Thermo, which caused significant damage during the seismic tremor in April 2007.”