Aegean Sea earthquake of 2020

The Aegean Sea earthquake of 2020 was a strong earthquake with a magnitude of about 7.0, whose epicenter lay in the sea north of the Greek island of Samos, close to the Turkish coast. It was caused by movement on a normal fault in a region of active tectonics, as the Aegean extends. It caused heavy damage in the Turkish city of Izmir, where a number of apartment buildings collapsed and more than a hundred people died, and on Samos, where two teenagers were killed. A small tsunami hit the coast and flooded streets and harbors. Rescue teams worked for days in the rubble, and the disaster briefly brought Greek and Turkish officials together in expressions of solidarity.

Open on the timeline