CA warns of possible underwater dangers after Greek island struck by earthquakes

Laura Hodgetts
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An earthquake has moved an entire island 36cm to the south, the Cruising Association has learned.

The Ionian Island of Lefkada was moved by two severe earthquakes, measuring at 6.1 and 5.2 on the richter scale. The two quakes were 80 minutes apart, although were joined by a series of aftershocks and tremors.

The CA is warning its members and all visiting yachtsmen to take care when navigating around the coast of Lefkada, as the earthquakes could have shifted rocks and changed the underwater profile, creating uncharted dangers.

There have been no reports from CA members of any boats being damaged in the quake, however a number of the island’s beaches have been lost to landslides.

A CA member said the only boatyard with damage was in Steno near Nidri with several boats toppled. The Aktio yards were closed to workers for a day as a precautionary measure and all schools were closed for up to two days.

The epicentre of the quakes, which struck the island on November 17, was measured to be 5km underground and 20km to the west of the island.

Greek seismologists have connected the two quakes with the fault line of Kefalonia, which caused a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in 2014, injuring 16 people and causing serious damage to the local infrastructure.

Local independent news source Keep Talking Greece has said that the earthquake took the lives of two locals, a 65-year-old woman in Ponti and an 82-year-old woman in Athani.