# List of earthquakes in Greece

This list of earthquakes in Greece includes notable earthquakes that have affected Greece during recorded history. This list is currently incomplete, representing only a fraction of the possible events.

## Tectonic setting

Greece is located at the complex boundary zone in the eastern Mediterranean between the African plate and the Eurasian plate. The northern part of Greece lies on the Eurasian plate while the southern part lies on the Aegean Sea plate. The Aegean Sea plate is moving southwestward with respect to the Eurasian plate at about 30 mm/yr while the African plate is subducting northwards beneath the Aegean Sea plate at a rate of about 40 mm/yr. The northern plate boundary is a relatively diffuse divergent boundary while the southern convergent boundary forms the Hellenic arc.
These two plate boundaries give rise to two contrasting tectonic styles, extension on east–west trending fault zones with strike-slip tectonics on SW-NE trending fault zones throughout west and central Greece, Peloponnese and the northern Aegean and contractional in the southern Aegean, continuing around to the Ionian Islands. The south Aegean is the location of the volcanic arc and is characterised by extension. To the east of Crete along the Hellenic Arc, strike-slip tectonics with some extension become important.
The strongest earthquakes historically are those associated with the Hellenic Arc, although none larger than about 7.2 have been observed instrumentally. The events of AD 365 and 1303 are likely to have been much larger than this. In mainland Greece, normal faulting gives earthquakes up to 7 in magnitude, while in the northern Aegean, strike-slip events with a magnitude of 7.2 have been recorded. Large intermediate depth (>50 km) earthquakes of magnitude >7 from within the subducting African plate have been recorded but such events cause little damage, although they are widely felt.

## Earthquakes

| Date | Place | Lat | Lon | Deaths | Mag. | MMI | Comments | Sources |
| 2022-01-09 | Florina, Western Macedonia | 40.842 | 21.376 | | 5.5 M$_w$ | VII | Several houses and buildings were damaged in Florina, while one uninhabited house collapsed in the village of Agia Paraskevi. Two people were hospitalized. | USGS |
| 2021-10-12 | Lasithi | 35.193 | 26.256 | | 6.4 M$_w$ | VIII | A chapel was destroyed following the earthquake in the village of Xerokampos. | USGS |
| 2021-09-27 | Crete | 35.252 | 25.260 | 1 | 6.0 M$_w$ | VIII | | USGS |
| 2021-03-03 | Larissa | 39.755 | 22.176 | 1 | 6.3 M$_w$ | VIII | 1 death 3 injures | USGS |
| 2020-12-02 | Thiva | 38.33 | 23.4644 | | 5.1 M$_w$ | VI | A cemetery was completely destroyed in the village of Kallithea, while in the same village a displacement of 6 cm was observed. | |
| 2020-10-30 | Near Samos, Aegean Sea | 37.897 | 26.795 | 119 | 7.0 M$_w$ | X | Greece:19 people injured and 2 teenagers (15 and 17) killed. Turkey:The earthquake injured an addition 1,034 and killed 114 people in the coastal city İzmir, Turkey. | USGS |
| 2020-03-21 | Parga, Epirus | 39.357 | 20.638 | | 5,7M$_w$ | VII | The earthquake was particularly felt in Thesprotia and Preveza where people took to the streets, It was also felt in Ioannina, Arta, Corfu and in general in the wider area, the earthquake caused serious damage in Kanalaki. (2 injures) | USGS |
| 2019-11-27 | Aegean Sea, offshore Antikythera | 35.63 | 23.21 | | 6.1 M$_w$ | VI | Depth of focus reached 56 km, making it perceived from more than 300 km away. Some damage. | CNN |
| 2019-07-19 | Athens | 38.095 | 23.525 | | 5.3 M$_w$ | VII | 7 injured and material damage to buildings, the epicenter of the earthquake was 23 km northwest of Athens and the focal depth was 10 km | USGS |
| 2019-03-30 | Galaxidi | 38.366 | 22.394 | | 5.4 M$_w$ | VII | Minor damage was observed inside the buildings, while in Patras poles came out of their house | USGS |
| 2018-10-26 | Ionian Sea, offshore Zakynthos | 37.478 | 20.56 | | 6.8 M$_w$ | VI | Sea level changes were observed, prompting a local tsunami warning. | USGS |
| 2017-07-21 | Kos | 36.57 | 27.27 | 2 | 6.6 M$_w$ | VII | 150 people injured in Greece, 370 injured in Turkey and two dead | BBC |
| 2017-06-12 | Lesbos | 38.93 | 26.37 | 1 | 6.3 M$_w$ | IX | 10+ people injured, significant damage across parts of the island | |
| 2015-11-17 | Lefkada | 38.67 | 20.6 | 2 | 6.5 M$_w$ | VIII | Four injured, A landslide in Egremni Beach two people dead. | |
| 2014-05-24 | Limnos | 38.11 | 23.60 | 3 | 6.9 M$_w$ | VIII | 3 deaths and 324 injuries reported in Greece, dozens of houses collapsed. | |
| 2008-07-15 | Dodecanese | 35.93 | 27.81 | 1 | 6.4 M$_w$ | VII | | |
| 2008-06-22 | Methoni, Messenia, Peloponnese | 36.00 | 21.90 | | 6.0 M$_w$ | VIII | There were four foreshocks before the main event / Earthquake swarm starting 14 February | |
| 2008-06-08 | Peloponnese | 37.96 | 21.53 | 2 | 6.4 M$_w$ | VIII | 240 injured | |
| 2008-02-20 | Methoni, Messenia, Peloponnese | 37.96 | 21.53 | | 6.1 M$_w$ | V | Earthquake swarm | |
| 2008-02-14 | Methoni, Messenia, Peloponnese | 37.96 | 21.53 | | 6.7 M$_w$ & 6.6 M$_w$ | V+ | Back to back seismic events in the span of two hours approximately / Minor damage / Earthquake swarm that continued throughout the year | |
| 2008-01-06 | Leonidio, Arcadia | | | | 6.6 M$_w$ | | | |
| 2006-01-08 | Kythira | 36.26 | 23.46 | 1 | 6.7-6.9 M$_w$ | VII | Three injured | |
| 2005-10-18 | Zakynthos | | | | 6.0 M$_w$ | | No injuries or damage | |
| 2003-08-14 | Lefkada | 39 | 21 | | 6.4 M$_w$ | VIII | | |
| 2002-01-22 | Crete – Karpathos | 35.56 | 26.73 | | 6.6 M$_w$ | | No injuries or damage | |
| 1999-09-07 | Athens | 38.06 | 23.51 | 143 | 6.0 M$_w$ | IX | 1,600 injured / $3–4.2 billion in damage | |
| 1995-06-15 | Aigio | 38.40 | 22.28 | 26 | 6.4 M$_w$ | VIII | 60 injuries / $660 million in damage | NGDC, |
| 1995-05-13 | Kozani–Grevena | 40.15 | 21.70 | | 6.6 M$_w$ | VIII | 12-25 injured / $450 million in damage | NGDC, |
| 1990-12-21 | Goumenissa – Edessa | 40.92 | 22.36 | 1 | 6.1 M$_w$ | VI | 1 killed in Edessa/ 60 injured | USGS |
| 1990-06-16 | Preveza (regional unit) | 39.1 | 20.4 | | 6.0 M | VI | 1 injured | |
| 1988-10-16 | Kyllini, Elis | | | | 6.0 M | | | |
| 1986-09-13 | Kalamata | 37.01 | 22.18 | 20+ | 6.0 M$_w$ | X | 300 injured / $5 million in damage | |
| 1981-12-19 | Lesbos | 39.00 | 25.26 | | 7.2 | VIII | 7 buildings collapsed | |
| 1981-02-24 | Athens – Eastern Gulf of Corinth, Halcyon Islands. | 38.22 | 22.93 | 20–22 | 6.7 M$_s$ | IX | 500 injured / $812 million in damage / 22,554 buildings destroyed around Athens/ Local tsunami. 2 strong earthquakes followed (6.4 M$_s$ and 6.3 M$_s$ ) | |
| 1980-07-09 | Almyros, Magnesia (regional unit) | 39.27 | 22.83 | | 6.5 | VIII | 24 injured / 5,222 buildings completely destroyed | |
| 1978-06-20 | Thessaloniki | 40.6 | 23.2 | 45–50 | 6.2–6.5 M$_w$ | VIII | 100–220 injured | |
| 1973-11-29 | Palaiochora, Crete | 35.18 | 23.75 | | 6.0 M$_w$ | VII+ | | |
| 1968-02-19 | Agios Efstratios, Aegean Sea | 39.37 | 25.96 | 20 | 7.1–7.2 M$_w$ | X | 39 injuries / Local tsunami | NGDC, |
| 1967-05-01 | Drosopighe, Arta (regional unit) | 39.47 | 21.25 | 9 | 6.4 | IX | 56 injured | |
| 1966-10-26 | Katouna, Aetolia-Acarnania | 38.78 | 21.11 | 1 | 6.0 | VIII | 43 injured | |
| 1966-09-01 | Megalopolis, Greece, Arcadia | 37.39 | 22.14 | | 5.4 | VIII | 24 injured | |
| 1966-02-05 | Kremasta (lake), Evrytania | 39.05 | 21.75 | 1 | 6.2 | IX | 65 injured / 731 buildings collapsed | |
| 1965-07-06 | Erateini, Phocis | 38.27 | 22.30 | 1 | 6.3 | VIII | 6 injured / 575 buildings collapsed | |
| 1965-04-09 | Kandanos, Crete | 35.13 | 24.31 | | 6.1 | VI+ | | |
| 1965-04-05 | Apiditsa, Arcadia | 37.40 | 22.10 | 18 | 6.1 | VIII | 17 injured / 1,426 buildings collapsed | |
| 1965-03-09 | Alonnisos | 39.16 | 23.89 | 2 | 6.1 | IX | 2 injured / 1941 buildings collapsed | |
| 1959-05-14 | Pitsidia, Crete | 35.00 | 24.72 | | 6.3 | VIII+ | 8 injured | |
| 1957-04-25 | Rhodes | 36.50 | 28.60 | | 7.2 | VIII | In Turkish coast there were 18 fatalities and 3,000 buildings destroyed | |
| 1956-07-09 | Amorgos | 36.67 | 25.957 | 53 | 7.5 M$_w$ | IX | Triggered a tsunami that affected the entire Aegean Sea / 100 injuries | |
| 1955-07-16 | Samos – Agathonisi | 37.55 | 27.05 | | 6.9 | VIII | 2 injured | |
| 1955-04-19 | Lechonia, Magnesia (regional unit) | 39.37 | 23.00 | 1 | 6.2 | VIII | 41 injured | |
| 1954-04-30 | Sofades, Karditsa (regional unit) | 39.28 | 22.29 | 25–31 | 6.7-7.0 M$_w$ | IX | 6,559 buildings destroyed | |
| 1953-10-21 | Kandila, Aetolia-Acarnania | 38.60 | 20.96 | | 6.3 | VIII | | |
| 1953-08-09 | Cephalonia, Zakynthos | 38.18 | 20.94 | 445–800 | 6.4 M$_w$, 6.8 M$_w$ & 7.2 M$_w$ | X | Two foreshocks and one major earthquake occurred in the span of three days / 2,412 injured / The islands of Cephalonia, Zakynthos and Ithaca were leveled. From the 33,300 buildings of these three islands, 27,659 were completely destroyed | |
| 1947-10-06 | Messenia, Peloponnese | 36.96 | 21.68 | 3 | 7.0 | IX | 20 injured | |
| 1941-03-01 | Larissa, Thessaly | 39.67 | 22.54 | 40 | 6.3 | VIII | 100 injured / In Larissa, 10% of the city's buildings have been completely destroyed and 60% seriously damaged | |
| 1938-07-20 | Oropos, East Attica | 38.29 | 23.79 | 18 | 6.0 | VIII | 107 injured / 8,000 homeless | |
| 1933-04-23 | Kos | 36.8 | 27.3 | 74-200 | 6.6 | IX–X | 600 injuries | |
| 1932-09-26 | Ierissos | 39.8 | 23.8 | 161–491 | 7.0 M$_s$ | X | Tsunami / 669 injuries / 4,106 buildings destroyed | |
| 1928-04-22 | Corinth | 38 | 23 | 20 | 6.3 M$_s$ | IX | 3,000 homes destroyed / tsunami | NGDC, |
| 1917-12-24 | Nafpaktos | 38.40 | 21.70 | | 6.0 | VIII | | |
| 1914-11-27 | Lefkada | 38.72 | 20.62 | 16 | 6.3 | IX | Small tsunami | , |
| 1904-08-11 | Samos | 37.66 | 26.93 | 4 | 6.8 | VIII | 7 injuries / 540 buildings destroyed | |
| 1902-08-11 | Assiros, Thessaloniki (regional unit) | | | 5 | 6.6 M$_w$ | IX | | |
| 1895-05-14 | Paramythia, Thesprotia | | | 75 | 6.3 M$_w$ | | 46 injuries | |
| 1894-04-27 | Atalanti | 38.65 | 23.08 | 255 | 6.7 M$_w$ & 7.0 M$_w$ | XI | Two earthquakes, 7 days apart / 3,783 buildings destroyed | |
| 1893-05-23 | Thebes | 38.31 | 23.25 | 2 | 6.2 | VIII | According to the available data, the seismic activity began on March 26 with a 5.1 Richter earthquake, while the next day a 5.2 Richter tremor occurred. The seismic tremors continued with smaller magnitudes until May 22. On the evening of that day, an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 Richter occurred, while 24 hours later the main tremor struck. | |
| 1893-04-17 | Zakynthos | | | | 6.4 | IX | From 4,500 buildings of the island, 2,000 were completely destroyed | |
| 1893-02-09 | Samothrace | 40.59 | 25.53 | 1 | 6.8 | IX | 10-20 injuries | |
| 1889-10-13/14 | Lesbos | | | 36 | 6.7 | | 200 injuries | |
| 1886-08-27 | Filiatra | 37.10 | 21.50 | 326–600 | 7.5 | X | 796 injuries / 6,000 buildings collapsed or severely damaged / 123 villages destroyed/ Tsunami | NGDC, |
| 1881-04-03 | Chios, Çeşme, Alaçatı | 38.30 | 26.20 | 3,550 | 6.5-7.3 | XI | 7,000 injured | |
| 1870-08-01 | Arachova | 38.48 | 22.55 | 117 | 6.8 | VIII | 380 injured / 2,000 buildings destroyed | |
| 1869-12-16 | Lefkada | | | 15 | 6.4 | | Only 20-25 houses were saved | |
| 1867-03-07 | Lesbos | 39.2 | 26.4 | 550 | 6.8-7.0 | X | 816 injured / 10,275 buildings were damaged | NGDC, |
| 1867-02-04 | Lixouri, Cephalonia | 38.4 | 20.2 | 200–224 | 7.2 | X | 2,612 buildings collapsed | NGDC, |
| 1866-01-31 | Santorini | | | | 6.1 | VIII | The volcano of Nea Kameni erupted and began creating two islets | |
| 1865-07-23 | Lesbos | | | 10 | 6.7 | IX | | , |
| 1861-12-26 | Valimitika, Achaea | 38.25 | 22.16 | 20 | 6.7 | IX | Tsunami wave at the Gulf of Corinth | |
| 1858-02-09 | Corinth | | | 21 | 6.7 | | 65 injuries | |
| 1856-10-12 | Rhodes, Crete | 35.5 | 26 | 538 | 8.2 | XI | 638 injuries / 16,512 homes destroyed / tsunami | NGDC, |
| 1853-08-18 | Thebes, Greece | | | 13 | 6.8 | | Destroyed most of the buildings of city of Thebes | NGDC, |
| 1846-06-11 | Messini, Messenia | | | 30 | 6.5 | | 2,500 buildings destroyed | NGDC, |
| 1840-10-30 | Zakynthos | 38 | 21 | 12 | | X | | NGDC |
| 1837-03-20 | Hydra (island), Saronic Gulf | | | 1 | 6.2 M$_w$ | VII | | |
| 1829-05-05 | Xanthi, Western Thrace | 41.1 | 24.5 | | 7.3 M$_w$ | IX | The city of Xanthi was almost destroyed. Drama (X) was almost completely destroyed, as well as many villages in the municipal county. | |
| 1825-01-19 | Lefkada | | | | 6.5 M$_w$ | X | | |
| 1817-08-23 | Helike | | | | 6.6 M$_w$ | | | |
| 1810-02-16 | Crete, Heraklion | 35.5 | 25.6 | 2,000 | 7.5 M$_w$ | X | | |
| 1804-06-08 | Patras | 38.1 | 21.7 | 10 | 6.4 M$_w$ | IX | | |
| 1752-07-29 | East Thrace | 41.41 | 26.61 | >100 | 7.5 M$_w$ | VIII | The cities of Havsa (IX) and Haskoy were leveled while Andrianoupolis (Edirne) and other cities of East Thrace suffered great damage. | |
| 1630-03-09 | Crete | | | | | | |
| 1481-05-03 | Rhodes | 36.0 | 28.0 | 30,000 | 7.1 M$_s$ | X | Tsunami | |
| 1303-08-08 | Crete, Alexandria | 35.0 | 27.0 | Many thousands | ~8 | IX | Triggered a major tsunami; severely damaged the Lighthouse of Alexandria | |
| Dec 856 | Corinth | 37.9 | 22.9 | 45,000 | | | | |
| 515 | Rhodes | | | | | | Ambraseys states that the death toll in this nighttime event was high and that the damage was severe | |
| 365-07-21 | Crete, Alexandria | 35.0 | 23.0 | Many thousands | 8.5+ | | It is considered the largest known earthquake in the Mediterranean. Raised part of Crete 12 metres, causing severe damage and triggering a tsunami that devastated Alexandria. Severe casualties and more than 100 cities in Crete were destroyed. | |
| 226 BC | Rhodes | 36.43 | 28.21 | | | | Toppled the Colossus of Rhodes.Thousands homes collapsed. | |
| 426 BC | Skarfeia, Euboic Gulf | 38.85 | 22.78 | 2,550 | 7.0 | IX | The historian Thucydides concluded that the Malian Gulf tsunami of the same year was caused by the earthquake, the first to recognize such a link | |
| 464 BC | Sparta | 37.08 | 22.43 | ~20,000 | 7.2 M$_s$ | IX | Death toll to be around 20,000, although the number is disputed. The earthquake gave Spartan helots an opportunity to revolt against their aristocratic rulers. | |