An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale shook the island at around 9.30am yesterday, which was felt particularly strongly in Limassol and Paphos districts.
Preliminary estimates indicate that the epicentre was located in the sea off Amathus, with an intensity of around 4 – 4.5 on the Richter scale.
No damages or injuries were reported. Kyriakos Solomi, of the Geological Surveys Department, said: “At 09.28 this morning a strong earthquake was recorded. The earthquake occurred offshore, three kilometres south of ancient Amathunda.
“The earthquake was strongly felt in Limassol and by people in the surrounding villages. It was also felt in Nicosia, particularly by people living on higher floors. Some of the higher villages in the Troodos also reported feeling the earthquake. The reason the earthquake was felt so strongly on the island is largely due to the size of the quake and to its depth of 30kilometres,” he added.
Solomi said that no aftershocks had occurred and the possibility of another strong quake was small. “If within the first two hours no further quakes have occurred, the possibility of another strong earthquake diminishes considerably,” he said.
Cyprus could be rocked again today or tomorrow but this time the quake is likely to be artificially simulated in Israel.
According to Israeli reports, the Seismology Division of the Geophysical Institute of the Ministry of National Infrastructure in Israel plans to simulate an earthquake in the southern Negev desert. The reports said Thursday but Solomi said it was due to happen today.
The earthquake will be simulated by detonating 80 tons of explosive material. The project is intended to improve seismological and acoustic readings in Israel and its environs, up to a 1,000km radius.
Measurements will be taken in other countries, including Cyprus, Greece, France and Germany.
“The experiment will be carried out on Wednesday. We will try to see if our networks can detect the shocks from such a distance,” said Solomi.
Israeli reports said the experiment was being financed by the US Defence Department and the University of Hawaii, to improve scientists’ understanding of sound waves in the atmosphere and to fine-tune Israel’s seismological equipment to give advance warning of earthquakes.
The plan is to simulate the intensity of a tremor after an earthquake of magnitude 3 on the Richter scale, which is people don’t usually feel. According to the Israeli reports, in the last few years, the Israel-based Institute has created several earthquake simulations to calibrate its equipment.
In June 2004, it detonated 32 tons of explosives in the Negev and in June 2005 some 20 tons south of the Galilee, both of which are considerably less than the one planned for this week.
