A crack is seen on the front of an older building near Kypseli’s main square. According to residents, this and other similar cracks appeared on several buildings in the area above the tunnel being dug for the new line of the Athens metro. [Dimitris Peristeris/InTime News]
Ground subsidence caused by tunneling for Athens’ new metro Line 4 is likely responsible for cracks that have appeared in homes in the downtown Kypseli district, a leading earthquake engineering expert said Thursday, urging against hasty repairs.
Speaking to state broadcaster ERT, Panagiotis Karidis, professor emeritus of earthquake-resistant structures, described the phenomenon in Kypseli as potentially more concerning than an earthquake, because “we are dealing with a process that is still evolving.”
Karidis said repairs should not begin until the ground has stabilized, warning that sealing the cracks prematurely could prove ineffective if further movement occurs. He noted that the neighborhood is built on soft soil with a high water table and former stream beds that have since been covered over.
Residents say the damage began after the tunnel-boring machine passed beneath the area. One homeowner, whose century-old house developed cracks, told ERT the property “stood firm for 100 years through earthquakes and every natural phenomenon, but not human intervention.”
