The Tsunami Caused by the 30 October 2020 Samos (Greece), East Aegean Sea, Mw6.9 Earthquake: Impact Assessment from Post-Event F
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The tsunami caused by the 30 October 2020 Samos (Greece), East Aegean Sea, Mw6.9 earthquake: impact assessment from post‐event field survey and video records Ιoanna Triantafyllou1, Marilia Gogou1, Spyridon Mavroulis1, Katerina‐Navsika Katsetsiadou1 , Efthymios Lekkas1 and Gerassimos A. Papadopoulos2 1 Department of Geology & Geoenvironment, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; [email protected] (I.T.); [email protected] (M.G.); [email protected] (S.M.); [email protected] (K.‐N.K.); [email protected] (E.L.) 2 International Society for the Prevention & Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 10681 Athens, Greece; [email protected] Abstract: In this report we present results regarding the impact and the hydrodynamic features of the tsunami that hit Samos and other Eastern Aegean Sea Greek islands soon after the 30 October 2020 earthquake (Mw=6.9). The analysis combines post‐event field survey observations, video records examination and an evaluation of interviews with local authority officers and eyewitnesses. The event was a near‐field tsunami arriving within 10’‐15’ at the north coast of Samos and at the eastern side of Ikaria island. From seven far‐field tide records we calculated tsunami magnitude Mt=Mw=6.8. In Vathy town (NE Samos) two strong inundations have been clearly recognized with arrival time difference of 20’, the second being more powerful as compared to the first. Maximum run‐up was measured at h~2.0 m asl in run‐in distance d=97 m. In Karlovasi (NW Samos) a strong inundation (h~1.70 m at d~80 m) was reported immediately after an initial sea water retreat in ~10’ after the earthquake. In Vathy the water flow velocity inland ranged from 1 m/s to 1.9 m/s while remarkable material damage was caused in various shops and offices. Damage was also noted in cars and small vessels which drifted away by the wave. Less damage was caused in Karlovasi. No casualties were reported. In the south coast of Samos the wave didn’t exceed h~0.6 m. In south Chios island h~1 m was estimated, a few boats crushed on the water break stones. In Evdilos and Ayios Kirikos ports, Ikaria island, h~1.0 m was estimated but no damage caused. Inundation of h<1.0 m has been documented from other islands, e.g. Andros and Patmos. After the seismic tsunamis of Samos (2020), Lesvos (2017) and Kos (2017) the tsunami hazard and risk assessment in the Eastern Aegean Sea should be reconsidered. Preliminary field observations indicating co‐seismic 10‐25 cm uplift of Samos may imply lower impact than that would have happenrd if no uplift had occurred. 1. Introduction On 30 October 2020, 11:51:27 UTC, a large shallow earthquake of moment magnitude Mw=6.9 (Νational Observatory of Athens, NOA) or Mw=7.0 (USGS, GFZ) ruptured the Eastern Aegean Sea area to the north of the island of Samos, Greece (Figure 1). Consistent focal mechanisms produced by several seismological institutes show E‐W normal faulting (Figure 1) with fault plane very likely dipping towards north. In Samos the most important earthquake impact included two fatalities, 19 minor injuries and damage in hundreds of houses, churches and port infrastructures. In the area of Izmir (W. Turkey), however, at least 114 people are known to have died due to the collapse of 2 of 19 buildings and more than 1030 were injured. Powerful tsunami inundation was reported from Samos and other Greek islands as well as from several coastal sites of western Turkey. In Greece, the General Secretary for Civil Protection disseminated to residents of the eastern Aegean Sea Greek islands a tsunami warning sms via the European emergency phone number 112. The message was sent at 14:15 local time (12:15 UTC). Remarkable material damage was caused by the tsunami but no fatalities were reported. Other important earthquake associated phenomena, such as co‐seismic coastal uplift and several types of ground failures, were also observed in Samos. Although Samos has long seismic history no tsunami associated with the earthquake activity was reported so far. The only exception is the very strong tsunami generated by the distant large earthquake (Mw=7.7, ISC‐GEM) of 9 July 1956 in the South Aegean Sea. That tsunami was reportedly observed in coastal spots of south Samos but also in Vathy, the main town at the NE of the island (e.g. Galanopoulos, 1957). In this report we study the impact as well as the hydrodynamic features of the 30 October 2020 tsunami in several observation points along the coasts of Samos and of other Greek islands. In addition, we calculate the tsunami magnitude from far‐field tide‐gauges records. Figure 1. Coastal sites where tsunami inundation has been documented. Key: A and E are Ayios Kirikos and Evdilos ports, Ikaria; Ka, V and P are Karlovasi, Vathy and Pythagorio, Samos; K=Komi village, Chios; N=Nimporios port, Andros; S=Skala port, Patmos; beachball shows the NOA fault‐plane solution of the 30 October 2020 mainshock; solid circle shows the epicenter of the Mw=7.7 (ISC) 9 July 1956 tsunamigenic earthquake. 2. Materials and Methods The Samos 2020 tsunami caused considerable material damage along the coastal zones of Vathy and Karlovasi towns both situated at the north side of Samos facing the earthquake source. For the 3 of 19 tsunami study we performed post‐event field survey in several coastal sites of Samos from the 31st October up to the 2nd November 2020. In addition, we interviewed with port authority officers and eyewitnesses and examined several videos recorded by security cameras and mobile phones in Samos and other islands. Near‐field tide‐gauge records for the Samos 2020 tsunami wave are not available. The closest records come from one tide‐gauge station in Bodrum, SW Turkey, as well as from another two stations in Kos island, Greece, situated at epicentral distances of 112‐120 km (Table 1). From far‐field tide‐gauge records, however, we were able to calculate the tsunami magnitude in Mt/Mw scale. Apart from the seven sites where tide‐gauge records are available, we documented tsunami inundations in 15 coastal sites of Samos as well as in 5 sites in other islands. From the observations collected we evaluated the wave impact and calculated several hydrodynamic features of the tsunami wave including the number and times of wave arrivals, times of wave retreat, wave run‐up, wave run‐in and water flow velocity inland. It has not been possible, however, to calculate all parameters for all the observation sites due to restrictions in the data availability. In our analysis we use the next notation: D for distance of an observation site from the shoreline, d for tsunami wave run‐in (distance of penetration inland), h for wave run‐up above sea level (asl) unless otherwise indicated. All times reported are in UTC unless otherwise indicated. Table 1. Data set used to calculate tsunami magnitude, Mt, from tsunami height, H, recorded at 7 tide stations situated at epicentral distances Δ. H is taken as the half of the maximum crest‐to‐trough height. Stations are operated by the next agencies: 1, jointly by the Space, Security and Migration Directorate‐Joint Research Center at Ispra (JRC, EC) and the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute ( KOERI, Turkey); 2, 3, 4 jointly by the JRC and the NOA: 5 by the Hellenic Navy Hydrographic Service (HNHS, Greece); 6, 7 by NOA. Tide records were retrieved from the JRC World Sea Levels platform (https://webcritech.jrc.ec.europa.eu/) and from the Sea Level Station Monitoring Facility of IOC/UNESCO (http://www.ioc‐sealevelmonitoring.org/). no. Tide station Latο Ν Lonο Ε Δ (km) H (m) BORDUM, IDSL‐17 112 1 37.03217 27.423453 0.03 KOS, IDSL‐25 118 2 36.898362 27.287792 0.095 KOS‐MARINA, IDSL‐33 120 3 36.891013 27.303632 0.09 PLOMARI, IDSL‐41 122 4 38.97188 26.37055 0.05 0.05 SYROS, HNHS 174 5 37.438 24.9411 0.06 KASOS, NOA‐03 274 6 35.4186 26.92184 7 0.08 HERAKLION, NOA‐10 286 35.3484 25.15254 From the urban planning point of view the coastal zone in Vathy bay consists of three parallel lanes, which from the shoreline towards inland are: a pedestrian lane, the two‐way main road and a 4 of 19 second pedestrian lane (Figure 2). The total width of this zone ranges from 40 to 45 m. The inland pedestrian lane is dominated by buildings with various shops, offices, cafeterias, restaurants and other commercial stores. Small streets perpendicular to the main road drive further inland. Similar urban planning characterizes the Karlovasi coastal zone. The height of the seaward pedestrian zone was measured at 60 cm and 110 cm asl in the eastern Vathy bay and in Karlovasi near the Port Authority building, respectively. In western Vathy bay, near the site Malagari where remarkable tsunami impact was observed, no shops and pedestrian zone exist. The area is characterized by the presence of the new commercial port and a marina. For the tsunami magnitude calculation seven far‐field tide‐gauge records have been utilized. Details of the tide‐gauge stations and sources used to retrieve records are summarized in Table 1. 3. Tsunami observation results In the next subsections we provide the results of the observations collected, the estimated tsunami hydrodynamic parameters as well as the tsunami impact in each one of the 20 inundation sites in Samos and the surrounding islands.