The President of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (OASP) and Professor of Dynamic Tectonic Applied Geology Dr. Efthimis Lekkas told the Athens-Macedonia News Agency that the powerful earthquake in Nepal will not have a domino effect on Greece, due to the huge distance.

Dr. Lekkas explained that the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that devastated the Asian country on Saturday will affect the fault line in Bangladesh and may trigger quakes as powerful as 7.5 or even 8 on the Richter scale in the greater region, extending from Afghanistan to the Philippines.

The experienced seismologist traveled to the earthquake-stricken county on Sunday, along with a team of expert from the University of Athens and the OASP, in order to provide technical and scientific advice to local authorities. He also hopes to gain valuable experience from the effects of such a major earthquake.

He also revealed that seismologists had been expected such a powerful earthquake as there had been a “seismic gap” in the Himalayan fault line for some time, despite the area being especially seismic. The last major earthquake, which also measured 7.9 on the Richter scale, occurred about 80 years ago and caused about 10,000 deaths.