There was significant damage on Amorgos and the neighbouring island of Santorini.

[2][3] The Cyclades island group lies within a zone of extensional tectonics in the Aegean Sea plate, between the South Aegean Volcanic Arc to the south and the continuation of the North Anatolian Fault to the north.

The extension is a result of the bulging out of the Hellenic arc due to flat-slab subduction of the African plate.

[4] The earthquake's focal mechanism is consistent with normal faulting, trending SW-NE.

The variable distribution of the observed run-ups, combined with inconsistent timing of the wave arrivals at different locations, suggest that earthquake-triggered underwater landslides were the main cause of the observed tsunami.