How high would the waves be in İzmir in the event of an Aegean Sea tsunami? İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban explains

Activity in the Aegean Sea continues. Following the earthquakes recorded in the region since January 28, the possibility of an eruption of the volcano on Santorini Island has also come to the agenda.

İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban held a press conference regarding the earthquake swarm in the Aegean Sea.

Elban said, "All models conclude that an earthquake occurring in Santorini would not have a direct negative impact on our province. It was also concluded that a tsunami occurring there would reach a wave height of 50-60 centimeters on our province's coast due to the distance, and would not be felt in our province."

Governor Elban noted the following in his statement:

"The earthquake swarm has been continuing for 15 days. Over 2,200 earthquakes have been recorded, with none exceeding 5.2 in magnitude.

We held an evaluation meeting regarding the potential effects in the Aegean Sea and on our coasts.

ALARM SYSTEM INSTALLED IN SEFERİHİSAR

Under the leadership of AFAD, we held meetings with members of the AFAD scientific committee, MTA, Kandilli, and scientists from universities in İzmir.

The effects of an earthquake or tsunami that might occur in Santorini on İzmir were evaluated. We assessed the measures to be taken. We have been conducting our evaluations at the AFAD Coordination Center since January 28. 

An alarm system has been installed in Seferihisar. Since the first day, AFAD has sent 71 reinforcement teams from other provinces. Five of these are on duty in Seferihisar. The others are waiting in the city center to take action in any potential situation.

MAXIMUM WAVE HEIGHT IS 60 CENTIMETERS

All models conclude that an earthquake occurring in Santorini would not have a direct negative impact on our province. It was also concluded that a tsunami occurring there would reach a wave height of 50-60 centimeters on our province's coast due to the distance, and would not be felt in our province.

Furthermore, no ash transport that would cause problems in our province is expected from the maximum ash formation that would result from a volcanic eruption.

All modeling results indicate that there is no, or very little, possibility of our province being affected by an earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption that might occur around Santorini."