An earthquake struck Athens on 7 September 1999 at 2.56p.m (11.56 a.m. GMT), lasting 15 seconds and having a magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter scale. Buildings in Ano Liosa, Menidi, Metamorphosi and other places near the seismic fault at the northern suburbs of Athens were the most affected.
An estimated 672 homes were destroyed to a point beyond repair, while another 2,000 more needed time for repairs. That left thousands homeless and where 143 lives were lost and dozens of others injured.
The earthquake had been caused by a normal fault. A fault is where two surfaces of blocks of rock meet. When the blocks move against or away from each other, it may create an earthquake. They vary in length, ranging from a few millimeters to thousands of kilometers. A normal fault is when a block that was above the fault slides downwards, relative to the other block.
In the past, Greece has experienced many earthquakes, but most did not cause any damage. This earthquake has been the worst in a century to hit Athens and the worst since the last two decades that has hit Greece. The day after it hit, six more digital accelerographs were installed in the Town Halls of the disaster hit areas.
I think that future buildings in Greece should be of the highest standard of immunity possible against earthquakes and that the public will know what to do in an earthquake situation by practicing safety drills. The government could even build earthquake-shelters where people can go to as soon as the situation arises. That way, lesser lives will be lost and damage can be reduced in future earthquakes.
Bibliography:
Anastasiadis A. N., Demosthenous M., Karakostas C. H., Klimis N., Lekidis B., Margaris B.,
Papaioannou C. H., Papazachos C. and Theodulidis N. http://mceer.buffalo.edu/research/Reconnaissance/greece9-7-99/ , 27/2/10
George Pararas-Carayannis, http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Earthquake1999Greece.html , 27/2/10
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?faqID=55 , 27/2/10
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