An earthquake struck Western Greece near the coastal city of Aigio at 03:15:48 local time on 15 June 1995.

The second destructive earthquake to strike Greece in a month, it measured 6.4–6.5 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw ).

Fifteen minutes after the mainshock, a large aftershock struck, causing further damage to Aigio.

Other faults in the region have the potential to produce earthquakes up to Mw  6.9, which poses a risk to Aigio and the surrounding Gulf of Corinth.

In the aftermath, several countries and organizations provided disaster aid, including search and rescue and refugee assistance operations.

Many countries also donated medical supplies, temporary shelter, water treatment equipment, and a ship to house survivors.

[4][12] In the Gulf of Corinth, faults have formed as a result of these stresses to accommodate some of the fastest known rates of continental extension.

[13] Crustal normal faults do not extend further than 40 km (25 mi) deep in this region, as at that depth the crust transitions to mantle at the Mohorovičić discontinuity.

[15] The fault is composed of two main segments: an offshore and an onshore portion,[16] and they extend for 8.621–12 km (5.357–7.456 mi) combined.

Minutes before the Mw  6.4–6.5[note 1][1][2] earthquake struck, people from several areas near the epicenter claimed to have heard the sound of a strong wind in otherwise calm weather.

[21] Fifteen minutes after the mainshock, the largest aftershock[7] (Mw  5.6)[note 2] struck and had a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) of VI.

[4][27] This scenario explains the surface rupture as secondary features created as the result of the high ground motion of the mainshock rather than true slip along the Aigion fault—as proven by GPS and InSAR data.

[4] The shallow depth and strong ground motion contributed to the death toll and monetary costs.

[7] The event was felt in Athens, Ioannina, Kalamai, Kardhitsa, Kozani, and Kefallinia; up to 225 km (140 mi) away from the epicenter.

[7] Many surface effects were attributed to this earthquake, including liquefaction, submarine landslides, coastal retreat, and ground fissures.

Liquefaction reportedly occurred over a 10 km (6.2 mi) area near the coast between the mouth of the Selinountas River and Cape Trypias.

Ground fissures were observed along the coast near Aigio between the Selinountas and Vouraikos rivers, as well as near Avythos.

[37] A French team with dogs and medical supplies arrived to the scene to help out with search and rescue (SAR) operations.

Other countries such as Germany and Denmark offered extra assistance, but the Greek authorities decided that the French and Swiss operations were sufficient for the relatively small scale disaster.

[30] To aid in reconstruction in the aftermath of the event, the government created a financing program to ease monetary losses.

Panayiotis Varotsos, a University of Athens professor, employed his controversial VAN technique which he developed to forecast earthquakes.

His reasoning for issuing the alert was that a recent previous earthquake in northwestern Greece would cause another event within two months.

This was met with outrage by the scientific community, and the acting director of the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens stated that the prosecutor would have changed his mind if he listened to Papanikolaou's colleagues.

[40] The city of Aigio, and more broadly the Gulf of Corinth, lies atop a large seismogenic zone (100–130 km (62–81 mi) long and 20–40 km (12–25 mi) wide) that accommodates 1–1.5 cm (0.39–0.59 in)/yr of north–south rifting within the Aegean Sea plate.

Simulations show earthquakes with maximum moment magnitudes up to Mw  6.42 taking place along the fault, and the maximum accumulated slip deficit (amount of built up energy since the last major earthquake) could cause a Mw  6–6.5 event.

[18] In 373 BC, a strong earthquake, potentially occurring on the Eliki fault, destroyed the ancient city of Helike.

[19] The accumulated slip deficit on only the western portion of the fault is enough to create a Mw  6.6 earthquake.