Half a metre of tsunami recorded in south Cyprus days after strong quake in Turkey

A tide gauge recorded half a metre of a tsunami in Paralimni after the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last weekm, Philenews reported on Friday.

And, currently, there is no clear plan of action and response to this phenomenon, it added.

Civil Defence receives warnings in case of danger from certified monitoring centres within the Mediterranean whereupon the Geological Survey Department is automatically informed.

However, the recent deadly quake has surfaced the absence of an action plan and authorities assured they are in the process of being drafted. It is expected to be completed in the spring of 2024.

Head of the Department of Geological Survey, Christodoulos Hatzigeorgiou, said: “From the tide gauge recordings in Paralimni we found that a tsunami of half a meter high was created on the coastline. There was no real danger.”

He added: “We received a warning that there was sea level fluctuation in several tide gauges in the eastern Mediterranean which was verified by the measurements. We had a small tsunami caused by seismic activity in the region. The risk would be serious if the earthquake occurred in the submarine area.”

If that was the case, he also said, then Cyprus would be confronted with  a large and destructive tsunami.

However, based on historical data, the risk of tsunamis is not very frequent in Cyprus but the possibility cannot be ruled out.

In-Cyprus