A state of emergency was declared in the Greek village of Voutes near Heraklion on the island of Crete after large cracks in the ground caused serious damage to about 20 houses, "Kathimerini" reported. Nine houses in Voutes have been declared dangerous and have been evacuated, BTA reported.
“The cracks are essentially due to some kind of landslide“, said Efthymios Lekas, head of the Greek Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization. Experts are investigating whether the damage was the result of a ground crack, landslide, rotational slip, differential subsidence or even soil liquefaction.
One theory suggests that a small leak in a water pipe may have contributed to the instability of the ground. Another theory points to the movement of groundwater. “It could be tectonic in nature, but not earthquake-related,” Lekas said, adding that detailed studies are currently underway.
The state of emergency will last for a month. Experts warn that the occurrence of such phenomena could increase across Greece as climate change leads to more intense rainfall, which destabilizes already fragile earth structures.