TSUNAMI HAZARD IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA: STRONG EARTHQUAKES AND TSUNAMIS IN THE WEST HELLENIC ARC AND TRENCH SYSTEM

Abstract

The West Hellenic Arc and Trench (WHA-T) system is seismotectonically one of the most active in the European–Mediterranean region. Data on earthquake and tsunami phenomena occurring in the tectonic segment of the WHA-T from the antiquity up to the present have been updated, critically evaluated, and compiled in the standard format developed for the New European Tsunami Catalog. Most of the tsunamis documented are caused by strong earthquakes occurring in the area offshore Crete Island which is one of the most tsunamigenic areas in the entire Mediterranean Sea region. The major event of AD365 appears to be the largest ever occurred in the Mediterranean Sea at least in the last 2.5 millennia. The mean repeat time of strong tsunamis is calculated from intensity-frequency statistics and probabilistic hazard assessment is performed by assuming random temporal distribution of the events.