At about 2.56.50pm local time on Tuesday, 7 September 1999, a powerful earthquake struck near Athens, the capital of Greece. The earthquake was the strongest to hit Athens in nearly a century and the worst to hit Greece in about 20 years.

The earthquake killed 143 people. 2,000 people were injured and 100 buildings, including 3 major factories, were damaged or destroyed. 672 homes were ruined beyond repair while 2,217 more were in need of repair. The utmost damage to buildings happened in the Athens suburbs of Menidi, Ano Liosia, Nea Filadelphia, Nea Ionia, Kifissia and Zefyri. There was no clear damage to the Acropolis, to the Temple of Zeus, and other ancient artifact in the area.

The geological unsteadiness and the resulting earthquakes are caused by the active grinding of the Anatolian plate wedged alongside the continental plates of Africa, Eurasia and Arabia. As these larger tectonic plates grind alongside the Anatolian plate, Asia Minor and Greece move, crash closer together in some places and drawing apart in other regions. The 500-mile North Anatolian fault symbolizes the northern boundary of the Anatolian plate grinding alongside the Eurasian plate.

Relief measures were also taken by the authorities after the earthquake.

There are a lot of things that can be done to minimize the damage from such events, such as announcements could be aired and published for weeks ahead of time that on a specified day at a specified time there might be an earthquake. People can be outside their homes with their fire extinguishers and their utilities shut off. Drivers should stop their cars off the road and boats should be moved into open water. Hospitals and fire departments should be prepared. There can also be an earthquake drill so that people would know what to do if warning signs were detected at any other time.