A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Turkey and Greece on July 20,reports global catastrophe modeling firm AIRWorldwide.

The quake struck a 6.4-mile area, impacting Bodrum, Turkey andthe Greek island of Kos. The United States Geological Survey (USGS)recorded the depth at 6.2 miles, and officials recorded at least 20aftershocks.

According to AP, the earthquake hurt nearly 500 people andkilled two tourists who were crushed when a building collapsed on apopular bar in Kos.

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There are reports of extensive damage to older buildings on Kos,some of which are more than 100 years old. Roofs and facades ofbuilding have collapsed, and one building has collapsed, says AIR.There has been heavy flooding caused by a half-meter tsunami, andcoastal towns in Turkey have reported broken water mains, gas leaksand downed power lines.

Seismically active regions

Turkey and Greece sit on significant fault lines and are inseismically active regions, says AIR. Thursday’s earthquakeoccurred in the Aegean Sea in the western part of the Anatoliamicroplate. The westward movement of this relatively rigid plate inresponse to the collision of the Arabian and Eurasia plates in theeast and the subducting Mediterranean oceanic crust under theHellenic arc in eastern Greece is responsible for much of thefrequent seismic activity in Turkey and Greece.

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According to AIR, small earthquakes are an almost dailyoccurrence in both countries. Turkey’s western Aegean coast hasalready experienced several temblors of up to magnitude 5.5 thisyear, and a magnitude 6.3 quake struck Plomarion, Greece on June12, impacting the islands of Lesbos and Chios, with shaking felt insome coastal provinces of Turkey.

Many recent earthquakes in Greece and western Turkey, includingthe 1999 Athens earthquake that caused more than 140 deaths andbillions in losses, is due to this tectonic extension process, saysAIR. Last week’s earthquake is also a normal faulting event, whichis consistent with the regional tectonics.

Impact on tourism

According to AIR, the epicenter of the earthquake was offshorefrom popular tourist destinations. However, structures in thisregion are generally vulnerable to earthquake shaking. Buildings ofreinforced concrete and reinforced/confined masonry constructionare the most common in the area, and are typically low- ormid-rise. Some recent earthquakes have resulted in secondaryhazards, such as landslides, which can contribute to losses.

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