The Lefkada fault splits the Ionian Sea in half and is capable of causing an earthquake of more than 7 points (video)

A ‘monstrous’ fault on the Greek island of Lefkada that ‘cuts’ the Ionian Sea in half and could trigger massive earthquakes, drone footage shows.

A video taken from the Up Stories drone over the active Agios Nikitas-Athanios Fault shows the Ionian “monster” stretching from Lefkada to Kefalonia and west of Zakynthos.

Drone images taken in collaboration with Vangelis Tsakalos @Above_View clearly show that entire mountains have been swallowed up by past earthquakes. It is considered one of the most dangerous in Greece, as it is capable of causing earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 7 on the Richter scale with devastating consequences.

The fault is located several hundred meters from the western coastline, cutting through the limestone and dolomite of the area, and is clearly visible from the bay of Agios Nikitas south of the village of Athani. It has a direction from northeast to southwest and an eastern slope.

The passage of the fault is clearly visible for 17 km. Its northernmost part, on the western side of the settlement Αγ. Νικήτα, coincides with the eastern slope of the hill Μεγάλη Ράχη, and in front of it is a small elongated depression Αγ. Νικήτα.

The study of the faults in Lefkada and the assessment of the consequences of previous large earthquakes, including the 2003 earthquake, have shown that the most important active fault can be considered the right-hand horizontal fault of Agios Nikitas-Athanios, which runs almost parallel to the western coastline.

It has similar geometric and dynamic characteristics to the underwater Kefalonia-Lefkada fault, located a few kilometers from the steep coast, the formation of which is not associated with the existence of a normal fault, but with the tectonic uplift of the land as a result of the compression prevailing in this area and subsequent gravitational influence. The area of this fault in almost all earthquakes is associated with increased destruction in the anthropogenic and natural environment, and high seismic intensity, writes newsbeast.gr.