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RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Climate
- RTÉ News
Greece considers water-saving moves as heatwave intensifies
Greece has announced plans to "urgently" overhaul its water management as temperatures continued to rise during a week-long heatwave. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the cabinet had discussed plans to make water companies more "viable", noting that reserves in Athens were down 50% compared to three years ago. There will be additional use of desalination technology and water reuse, the premier's office said, adding that Greece globally ranked 19th in terms of drought risk. The National Observatory of Athens recently warned that, following high temperatures and low rainfall in June, almost all of Greece displayed above-normal drought levels for this time of year. Temperatures continued to rise in a heatwave expected to last until Sunday. Between 40C and 44C are expected in the eastern, central, and northern inland regions, as well as on the islands of the eastern Aegean Sea, according to the website of the Athens National Observatory. In Athens, the heat reached 36.3C around 1.30pm (11.30am Irish time). It is expected to rise to 42C tomorrow according to To protect visitors and guards, Greek authorities have closed the Acropolis in Athens during the hottest hours of the day, between 1pm and 6pm, until Friday. The Greek government has also banned outdoor work in several sectors during the hottest hours to minimise health risks. "It's inhumane to work in such conditions. The asphalt is boiling," Panagiotis Arvanitidis, a member of the food delivery workers' union in the Thessaloniki region (north), said. "The ambient temperature in my home over the past two days has exceeded 30C," said another Athens resident. "Without air conditioning, survival is impossible!" she added. The heatwave's highest temperatures so far were recorded on Tuesday at Tragana, central Greece, at 44.9C, according to A Mediterranean country accustomed to intense summer heatwaves, Greece last year experienced its hottest summer on record.
San Francisco Chronicle
07-06-2025
- Science
- San Francisco Chronicle
Study says California is overdue for a major earthquake. Does that mean ‘the big one' is coming?
Unlike other earthquake-prone places around the planet, California is overdue for a major quake, according to a recent study. But that doesn't mean a catastrophic event like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake is on the verge of striking. 'A fault's 'overdue' is not a loan payment overdue,' said Lucy Jones, founder of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society and a research associate at the California Institute of Technology, who wasn't part of the work. The new study reported that a large share of California faults have been running 'late,' based on the expected time span between damaging temblors. The researchers compiled a geologic data set of nearly 900 large earthquakes on active faults in Japan, Greece, New Zealand and the western United States, including California. Faults are cracks in the planet's crust, where giant slabs of earth, known as tectonic plates, meet. The Hayward Fault is slowly creeping in the East Bay and moves around 5 millimeters per year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. But sometimes plates get stuck and pressure builds. Earthquakes occur when plates suddenly slip, producing a jolt of energy that causes the ground to shake. Scientists study ruptured rock layers deep beneath the surface to estimate when large earthquakes occurred in the past. In the new study, the authors collected data stretching back tens of thousands of years. For a region spanning the Great Basin to northern Mexico, this paleoearthquake record stretched back about 80,000 years. For California, the record extended back about 5,000 years. The scientists used these records to calculate how much time typically passes between large surface-rupturing earthquakes around the planet. The average interval was around 100 years for some sites on the San Andreas Fault; it was 2,100 years on the less famous Compton thrust fault beneath the Los Angeles area. About 45% of the faults analyzed for California are running behind schedule for a major earthquake, meaning that more time has passed since the last large quake on a fault than the historical average. In the other regions studied, this statistic ranged from 9% to 18%. The researchers' analysis only included large surface-rupturing earthquakes. It didn't include the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, which was below the magnitude 7 threshold that the study authors used for quakes on the San Andreas Fault. The authors associated seismic punctuality with slip rates, or how fast the two sides of a fault move past each other. 'Our analysis showed that the faster the faults are moving, the more likely it is that they will appear overdue,' said study author Vasiliki Mouslopoulou, a senior scientist at the National Observatory of Athens, in Greece. In tectonically active California, the San Andreas Fault has a particularly high slip rate. The Pacific and North American plates slide past each other an average of more than inch per year in some spots. 'Faults in California are among the fastest-slipping faults in the world,' Mouslopoulou said, adding that other factors are also probably contributing due to the pattern of chronically late large earthquakes. Previous studies had also shown that seismic activity has been unusually subdued in California, compared with paleorecords. A 2019 study reported that there's been a 100-year hiatus in ground-rupturing earthquakes at a number of paleoseismic sites in California, including on the San Andreas and Hayward faults. The authors of the 2019 study treated large earthquakes at these sites as independent events, akin to flipping pennies and counting how many turn up heads. They calculated a 0.3% probability that there'd be a 100-year hiatus in ground-rupturing quakes across all the California sites. Scientists have suggested that there could be earthquake 'supercycles,' with large quakes occurring in clusters, with less active periods in between. 'There are these longer-term, decadal, century-long ups and downs in the rate of earthquakes,' Jones said. Potentially, California is in a quiet time and large earthquakes are currently less likely. Katherine Scharer, a U.S. Geological Survey research geologist who wasn't part of the new research, commended the authors of the study, explaining that compiling the paleoseismic records was a 'tremendous amount of work' and will enable more scientists to investigate earthquakes. California's relatively sparse big earthquake activity could be connected to the geometry of its faults. While the analyzed faults in California were more or less in line with each other, those in other regions resembled 'a plate of spaghetti,' Scharer said. 'From the study, I think you would say that the main California faults are mechanically different somehow than the averages from these other places,' Glenn Biasi, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, who wasn't part of the new work. Biasi emphasized that it's impossible to say if California's faults are truly overdue for a big earthquake. 'The faults slip on their own schedule and for their own reasons,' Biasi said. Scientists can't accurately predict large earthquakes in advance but paleoearthquake data could help. The authors of the new study found that, excluding California's recent lack of large earthquakes, faults around the entire planet have generally produced surface-rupturing quakes at intervals expected from paleoearthquake and historic records. Considering such data could improve earthquake forecasts, Mouslopoulou said.
Iraqi News
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Iraqi News
Strong earthquake, 6.1 Richter, off Crete causes disruption in many areas of Greece
INA- SOURCES A very strong earthquake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, occurred at 06:19 (Greek time) 56 kilometers north-northeast of Heraklion, Crete, according to data from the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens. The focal depth is estimated to have been 60.3 kilometres. Based on initial information, the earthquake caused disruption to the residents of Crete, and was particularly felt on the Aegean islands and in areas of mainland Greece. The intensity and duration of the earthquake was high in Chania and Rethymno with the alert from google that arrived on mobile phones recommending instructions. In fact, there were reports from residents of Athens that they felt the powerful earthquake. Several aftershocks followed. The fire services of Crete have been put on general alert. Fire brigade vehicles are already on patrol to control the situation. According to reports, small landslides on the provincial road network have been recorded as consequences of the earthquake, as well as small parts falling off a building in Heraklion, Crete. The services of both the region of Crete and the municipalities are in a state of increased preparedness. Speaking to ERT, the president of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization Efthimios Lekkas noted that it was positive that the epicenter of the earthquake was located in the sea, and that there is probably no fear of a tsunami. Lekkas referred to an earthquake of significant depth that is difficult to transfer to the surface, at the confluence of the African and European plates, which has produced strong earthquakes in the past and is not related to Santorini. The mayor of Agios Nikolaos, Manolis Menegakis, speaking to Mega TV station, said that the earthquake was very strong, but confirmed that there were no reports of damage. "We are vigilant," he said.
Daily Express
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Express
6.1-magnitude quake hits off Greek island of Crete: USGS
Published on: Thursday, May 22, 2025 Published on: Thu, May 22, 2025 By: AFP Text Size: The tremor 'occurred at a great depth and there is no particular reason for residents to worry,' Athanassios Ganas, general director of Research at the Geodynamics Institute of the National Observatory of Athens, told the station. ATHENS: A 6.1-magnitude earthquake rattled the Greek islands of Crete and Santorini on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, with no major damage immediately reported. The strong quake struck 82 kilometres (51 miles) northeast of Crete's capital Heraklion at 0319 GMT at a depth of 68 kilometres (42 miles), the USGS said. AFP journalists said it was felt as far away as Athens and Egypt. State television ERT said many residents in the Cretan regions of Rethymno and Lasithi were woken by the quake just after 6:00 am and quickly exited their homes as a precaution. The tremor 'occurred at a great depth and there is no particular reason for residents to worry,' Athanassios Ganas, general director of Research at the Geodynamics Institute of the National Observatory of Athens, told the station. State news agency ANA said fire department units in Crete had been placed on general alert, with vehicles patrolling to assess the situation. Advertisement The mayor of Heraklion, Alexis Kalokerinos, told ERT that there were no particular problems in the city and that closing schools would not be necessary. The quake struck just over a week after a 6.1-magnitude tremor hit near the island of Kasos near Crete, and was felt in the outlying area. The region, popular with tourists, has been hit with multiple tremors in recent months, prompting schools in Santorini and neighbouring islands to temporarily close. Thousands of earthquakes, mainly of low magnitude, have been recorded since January between the islands of Santorini, Amorgos, Ios and Anafi in the Cyclades group southeast of the Greek mainland. They have not caused casualties or significant damage. Located where the African and Anatolian tectonic plates converge, the Aegean Sea is often hit by quakes. But the region had not experienced a phenomenon of such magnitude since records began in 1964, experts say. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Nahar Net
03-04-2025
- Climate
- Nahar Net
Severe storms batter Greek islands for second day, with Crete hardest hit
by Naharnet Newsdesk 03 April 2025, 15:58 Severe storms battered islands in Greece for a second day Tuesday, with Crete experiencing the heaviest rainfall. Authorities on Paros and Mykonos, meanwhile, worked to clear overturned cars and debris following hailstorms and torrential downpours. On Monday, storms in Paros sent cars floating into the sea and flooded homes and businesses with water and mud. Authorities have requested emergency government assistance to address road and infrastructure damage. Nearby Mykonos also endured hailstorms and powerful winds. Rescue crews on Crete assisted seven people in vehicles trapped by floodwaters while rockslides and road closures were reported on the island after the storm overnight pushed toward the southeast. The highest rainfall in the previous 24 hours through Tuesday afternoon was recorded near the Cretan port of Chania, according National Observatory of Athens. Rhodes faced gale-force winds that toppled trees and damaged vehicles. Schools were closed across multiple islands, and the storms halted or disrupted ferry services. The severe weather primarily impacted islands in the Cyclades chain in the central Aegean, a popular vacation destination known for its beaches and whitewashed houses. The storms struck just weeks after a rare earthquake swarm forced thousands to flee Santorini and the nearby islands of Ios, Amorgos, and Anafi.
