As earthquakes continue on the Cyclades islands, experts are raising concerns about the buildings’ resilience and ability to withstand the tremors.

Panagiotis Karydis, Professor of Earthquake-Resistant Structures, expressed his views regarding the buildings on the island of Santorini and how the continuous earthquakes are impacting them.

The professor was concerned about the unstable ground and makeshift constructions on the island. “Earthquakes always happen; we didn’t need this situation to question whether the buildings can withstand them or not. Only earthquake-resistant construction can save us,” he stated.

Karydis emphasized that reoccurring earthquakes inevitably results in ground deformation, with the structures developing cracks. He stressed that constructions on the island have been built on soft and deformable soil, without proper study, in many cases “adding to the burden.”

However, he noted that the magnitudes of the earthquakes have not been strong enough to cause immediate damage to the buildings, but cumulatively, in terms of material fatigue, they could potentially create a problem. “However, the ground continues to subside as the shaking persists,” the professor warned.

He also pointed out that this situation presents an excellent opportunity for property owners to reflect and “call an engineer to assess what needs to be done.”

Given the fact that Greece is one of the most seismically active areas in the world the question whether the country’s buildings and infrastructure are adequately designed to withstand the frequent seismic activity, has frequently concerned both the public and experts.

Professor of Dynamic Tectonic Applied Geology & Disaster Management and President of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization, Efthymios Lekkas having spoken to To Vima International Edition has been reassuring, noting that Greece’s built environment is at a high level of seismic resilience.

“The impact of earthquakes in Greece, in terms of human casualties and damage to buildings and infrastructure, is among the lowest compared to other countries with similar seismic hazards,” he stressed.

This according to Lekkas has been the result of the implementation of a regulatory framework that fully meets the most modern requirements, even for earthquakes significantly larger than those typically occurring in Greece.

The professor also emphasized the significance of prevention as being one of the most critical stages in managing earthquakes. Risk analysis, operational planning, equipment readiness, public awareness, preparedness drills at all levels, collectively reduce overall risk, minimizing all types of impacts.

Lekkas noted that “The global scientific community has redirected its efforts toward seismic resilience and mitigating the effects of earthquakes.”