Kandilli issues statement on Aegean earthquakes and potential tsunami risk

Boğaziçi University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute published a scientific "information note" today addressing the earthquakes and seismic activity that have been ongoing in the Santorini region of the Aegean since January 28.

Emphasizing that the seismic activity, which began on January 28, 2025, and is still continuing in an area of approximately 2,500 square kilometers northeast of Santorini Island, has increased significantly, Kandilli Observatory announced that a total of 3,524 earthquakes have occurred so far, with the largest being 5.3.

Stating that the Santorini-Amorgos fault line has the potential to cause large earthquakes, Kandilli noted that 181 of the earthquakes recorded in real-time had a magnitude above 4. Reporting that most of the earthquakes have a focal depth of less than 10 km, the Observatory stated that this depth is considered "shallow."

THE 1956 AMORGOS EARTHQUAKE WITH A MAGNITUDE OF 7.7 PRODUCED A TSUNAMI

Kandilli Observatory stated that the earthquakes indicate the presence of a "large geothermal system," adding, "The 1956 Amorgos Earthquake (M7.7) is one of the largest earthquakes in the region, and tsunami formation was also recorded in the logs." It was also stated that a total of 492 earthquakes had been recorded in the region over the last 50 years.

Kandilli stated that it has evaluated possible tsunami scenarios related to earthquakes in the Aegean region in 2,415 different ways and made the following statements:

“It is understood that shallow earthquakes with a magnitude of Mw ≥ 6.5 in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean can cause tsunamis with wave heights of 0.5 m and higher on the coasts, and for deep earthquakes, this threshold height can be reached with an earthquake of magnitude Mw 7.”