It was 5:12 in the morning of 9 July 1956 when a powerful 7.5 Richter shocked her and shocked all Cyclades. The account was 53 dead and over 100 injured, while causing a huge tsunami 25 metres tall. The 1956 earthquake in Santorini is recorded as the most powerful vibration in the European space in the 20th century. CORVERSE The earthquakes of February 2025 in the Cyclades centered on Santorini brought to mind the devastating blow of Encelados in 1956. On July 9, 69 years ago, 35% of the island’s houses collapsed and 45% experienced large or small damage. Almost all public buildings were destroyed. In addition to Santorini, serious damage was also caused to Amorgos, Anafi, Astypalea, Ios, Paros, Naxos, Kalymnos, Leros, Patmos and Lipsos. A total of 529 homes were destroyed, 1,482 were severely damaged and 1,750 smaller. The largest, until then, earthquake in the European space in the 20th century was accompanied by a large tsunami. Its height reached 25 meters on the south-east coast of Amorgos, 20 m on the north-west coast of Astypalea, 10 m in Folegandros and was weaker on various other coasts of the south Aegean to Smyrna. From the tsunami a woman lost her life in Kalymnos, according to the reports of the time, while weakened she reached Kalamata and destroyed many small boats in the port. The 4.9 Richter Attention Enceladus had warned at noon on 8 July with a magnitude 4.9 earthquake vibration Richter, focusing on the sea area south of Amorgos. He did not particularly worry the population of the Cyclades, who continued his daily activities. At dawn on July 9 (05:11), when the main earthquake occurred from the same focal area, residents were caught in sleep. It was a magnitude of 7.5 points of the Richter scale and a intensity of 9 points of the Mercali scale. As the newspapers of the time wrote features, the seismic vibration was equivalent to the explosion of 10,000 atomic bombs. The earthquake tested the state apparatus, which had not yet recovered from the 1953 earthquakes, which destroyed Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Ithaca. The then Prime Minister, Konstantinos Karamanlis declared Santorini in a state of “high-scale local disaster” and visited the affected area himself on 14 July.
Earthquakes in Santorini: The 1956 devastating 7.5 Richter with 53 dead and a 25-meter tsunami
—
in Greece