Santorini Earthquake Update 14.2.25 – “Finally”
The latest update for the Santorini earthquake swarm as of 06:30GMT, 14.2.25. General update and opinion.
Click here for links to site giving live earthquake data
***UPDATE 17:33GMT 14.2.25 – According to this video, the government has finally decided to install a GNSS station at the epicenter of the earthquake swarm south of Amorgos on the island of Anydros. Better late than never. I wonder where & when we will start seeing movement data……
General Updates 06:30GMT 14.2.25
Generally earthquake activity is well down. There are still a lot of earthquakes but their intensity is much lower than it has been.
YouTube Predictions
Stefan Burns has done another video on electromagnetic phenomena in the atmosphere and it’s use as a predictor of earthquakes. The evening of the 13th of Feb saw massive activity in the atmosphere which can be a precursor to earthquakes. However in his previous videos the earthquakes came very soon after heightened electrical activity. This time we see a reduction in earthquake activity after these events.
Greek Media
Politics – “It is magmatic”
Greek seismologist Tselentis, (who resigned from the safety committee due to government interference in the committees assessments, while the government at the same time assumed no responsibility for the recommendations of the committee) has stated the official government line is unrealistic. That it is not reasonable to say that the earthquakes are exclusively seismic, magmatic and seismic events go hand in hand.
This seems to be a very reasonable and logical assessment and reflects the views of the geologists and commentators we have been following.
He continues by saying that the amount of earthquakes could be due to magma rising and triggering smaller faults and that there could be a larger earthquake to come.
NewsBeast – “New Volcano”
A professor of geology at Patras University has said we could be looking at the birth of a new volcano near Anydros island.
What is “Unforgivable”? – StrikeEngine Opinion
What is unforgivable and why?
From the start of this Santorini earthquake swarm the centre has been located around Anydros island. We are now two weeks in to the seismic “crisis” and to the best of my knowledge movement sensors ie sensors which monitor lateral and vertical movement have still not been placed on Anydros.
If this is indeed the case, this is absolutely unforgivable (in my opinion) given the resources that the Greek government are channeling to supposed “safety” measures. We have an earthquake swarm which has led to a state of emergency being declared on one of the countries most popular tourist destinations and yet it has not been seen fit to monitor the centre of these swarms for surface movement.
But where are the universities?
It’s true the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki and Athens University monitor a huge number of seismographs and GPS stations throughout Greece. I can see why someone might say the universities should put a new station on the island.
The reality is funds are not infinite and if it was easy I am sure they would do it. In addition, the universities are not claiming they are protecting people. They make the data they have freely available to the public and allow the public to make their own decisions.
Government “advice”
If I were to tell you the Greek government had not placed a ground displacement sensor on the mountain at centre of an earthquake swarm, in a known volcanically active area, you would be quite right in saying they are not serious about finding the truth. And yet this appears to be exactly what we are seeing.
The Greek government is saying they are protecting people. And this is why I think it is unacceptable for them not to put a monitoring station on Anydros. They cannot claim to be acting in a responsible manner and in the interests of public safety, if they do not do so. I think I would go as far as to say it is negligent of them not to put a station on Anydros while they are saying things like “the earthquakes are 100% not magmatic and that there is no chance of an eruption”.
If there is no sensor station on Anydros how can they make such claims?
They are in no position to make definite claims about these earthquakes because they are not making the effort to get the most basic and fundamental evidence ie ground movement at the epicenter of the earthquake swarm.
All these earthquakes in the South Aegean may well turn out to be seismic and that the event will dissolve into the past without any injuries. But that will be due to luck and not judgement. I feel positive the government will pat themselves on the back for a great job. But if on the other hand, this does go sideways and we see the birth of a new volcano around Anydros, one could as easily see the government saying “seismology is not an exact science, no one could have predicted that this would happen”. Except we know this not to be true. Volcanoes do give advance warnings, the signs are there, but if the sensors are not put in place we won’t see them.
The Resignation
The government has treated Tselentis’ resignation as nothing. However Tselentis’ claims of the safety committee’s recommendations being politicised seems very believable.
The Greek government has major money problems. If they give the facts, people may overreact, hurting the tourism industry and hurting the governments accounts. They could look at the situation and say
“It is pointless to state the truth, or even look for the truth. It could hurt our wallets for something that might not happen. Let’s bury our heads in the sand, play everything down, if something happens we can say we tried, if nothing happens our finances are in the best possible shape”.
Resolution
From today we need to start seeing movement data from Anydros. And the data needs to be widely available for experts to analyse and for people to make the most informed decision for their safety. Yes, it is late to be doing this. We may not have data to compare to but something is better than nothing.
