Earthquake environmental effects and ESI 2007 seismic intensities of the early 2014 Cephalonia (Ionian Sea, western Greece) earthquakes (January 26 and February 3, Mw 6.0)

Abstract

The early 2014 Cephalonia (Ionian Sea, western Greece) earthquake sequence comprised two main shocks with almost the same magnitude (Mw 6.0) occurring successively in short time (January 26 and February 3) and space (western Cephalonia, Paliki peninsula). Two different almost parallel NE–SW striking and SE dipping at a steep-angle dextral strike-slip fault zones with small reverse component corresponded to the two events and were activated onland in Paliki. Many earthquake environmental effects (EEE) were induced by both earthquakes in Paliki offering the possibility to apply the ESI 2007 scale. They are classified into primary and secondary effects. Primary effects comprise uplift, subsidence and surface ruptures. Secondary effects include ground cracks, slope movements, liquefaction and hydrological anomalies. The VIIIESI2007 intensities are assigned to sites of maximum uplift in the central–eastern part of Paliki. The VIIESI2007 intensities are assigned to sites with maximum subsidence, surface ruptures and large-volume slope movements in the eastern coastal zone of Paliki, the northern part of Paliki and the northern part of Argostoli peninsula, respectively. The VIESI2007 intensities are assigned to sites with ground cracks and slope movements mainly in the northern part of Paliki and the western part of Aenos Mt, respectively. The lowest VESI2007 intensities are observed in the southern part of Paliki associated with small-volume slope movements. From the comparison of all data, it is concluded that there is a strong correlation between the active faults, the displacement discontinuities detected from already published interferometric analysis and the spatial distribution of the EEE.