Earthquake and Tsunami in Cyprus

What is an earthquake and how does it occur?
Everything you need to know about the earthquake. An earthquake is any sudden shaking of the earth caused by the passage of seismic waves through the rocks of the earth. Seismic waves or earthquakes are produced when a form of energy stored in the Earth's crust is suddenly released. Earthquakes usually occur when rock masses that are pushing against each other break and slide.

How does an earthquake occur?
Earthquakes often occur along geological faults, narrow areas where rock masses are more closely connected. There was little information about earthquakes until the appearance of seismology at the beginning of the 20th century. This science, which includes the scientific study of all aspects of earthquakes, answers all questions about why and how earthquakes occur. The second famous belt is the "Alpide Belt", which runs from the Mediterranean region to the east through Asia and joins the Pacific Ocean belt in eastern India. The energy released in earthquakes from the side of this belt is about 15% of the total energy released from earthquakes in the world. Other notable belts of seismic activity are located mainly along oceanic margins, including in the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the western Indian Ocean, and along the deep valleys of East Africa. The largest earthquake in the world was the Great Chile Earthquake. This earthquake with a magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale was recorded by the United States Geological Survey and is known as the Great Chile Earthquake and the 1960 Valdivia Earthquake. The US Geological Survey has reported this event as the largest earthquake of the 20th century. There may have been other larger earthquakes in history, however this is the largest earthquake to have occurred since accurate estimates of earthquake magnitude became possible in the early 1900s. The other twelve major earthquakes of the world, which have

been measured since 1900, are as follows, in order of seismic strength:
• Chile - 1960/05/22 - 9.5
• Alaska - 1964/03/28 - 9.2
• Sumatra Northern Beaches - 2004/12/26 - 9.1
• Honshu, Japan - 2011/03/11 - 9.1
• Kamchatka - 1952/04/11 - 9/0
• The coast of Chile - 2010/02/27 - 8.8
• The coast of Ecuador - 1906/01/31 - 8.8
• Rat Island, Alaska - 1965/04/02 - 8.7
• Tibet - 1950/08/15 - 8.6
• North Sumatra coast - 2012/04/11 - 8.6
• North Sumatra - 2005/03/28 - 8/6
• Andreanof Islands - 1957/03/09 - 8.6

Cyprus is located in a seismic zone. The geological basis of this island, consisting of several tectonic plates, lies in the Alpine-Himalayan seismic belt, which extends from the Spanish mountains to Palmyra. In this group, tectonic processes are actively manifested, which lead to most catastrophic earthquakes. However, the island is located in one of the quietest areas of the Alpine-Himalayan seismic belt, and earthquakes in Cyprus are much less frequent and weaker than for instance, Turkey or Greece. The coastline of Cyprus, which starts from Paphos to Famagusta, is at the highest risk for earthquakes. Every year, the coast of Cyprus is exposed to minor earthquakes that do not cause any damage. Throughout history, Cyprus has been subject to earthquakes of varying strength. There is evidence of devastating earthquakes in the first century, one of them destroyed Paphos. Limassol, Larnaca (Kition) and Famagusta (Salamis) were destroyed many times. The collection of seismic data about the situation in Cyprus began in 1896, when the first seismic stations were installed in neighboring countries. The Seismological Center or Geological Organization of Cyprus was established in 1984. Currently, seismic stations that collect information about activity in Cyprus are located both in the south and in the north of the island. During the monitoring of seismic activity in Cyprus, about 400 earthquakes were recorded, most of which passed without significant damage. The Geological Survey of Cyprus records about 500 earthquakes every year.

Strong earthquakes in Cyprus
2013 - (3.7 to 5.9 Richter)
2014 - (4 to 4.4 Richter)
2015 - (4 to 5.3 Richter)
2016 - (3.8 to 4.8 Richter)

In ancient and medieval times, earthquakes often destroyed the habitations in Cyprus. Over and over almost all castles and cities of the island were exposed to the destructive effects of the earthquake and had to be rebuilt. According to the director of the Cyprus Oceanographic Center, Georgiou Giorgos, an earthquake in the Mediterranean can cause a tsunami. which can reach Cyprus within an hour and gives very little time to evacuate and shut down industrial buildings such as power plants and chemical plants.
The biggest earthquakes on the island of Cyprus
• A 9.5 magnitude earthquake in Paralimni left 15 dead.
• The 5.6-magnitude Paphos earthquake left 63 dead (1953).
• 7.5 earthquake in Paphos and Limassol, 2 people killed and 5 injured (February 23, 1995).
• 5.6 magnitude earthquake, 1 person was killed and 20 people were injured (October 9, 1996).
The coastlines of the island were affected by tsunamis in 1202, 1222, 1303 and 1953. The tsunami occurred in 1953 after a devastating double earthquake that killed 40 people in Paphos and it created a small wave of about 1 meter. Currently, there are four tsunami warning and information centers in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean region, located in Italy, France, Turkey, and Greece, and if a tsunami is detected by these centers, automatic warnings are sent to the member countries of the system.