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Observations in trenches excavated across the Ekkara rupture zone (ERZ), the longest of the sporadic ground ruptures that accompanied the M 6.7–7.0 earthquake of 30 April 1954 on the Domokos fault zone (DFZ), identify a left‐lateral oblique‐normal fault with a slip vector aligned with the regional extension direction (verifying the tectonic origin of the ERZ). The paleoseismological interpretation of stratigraphic, soil‐stratigraphic, and tectonic features is discussed with emphasis on the issues related to strongly oblique fault kinematics. Two pre‐1954 events of ground rupture are recognized (E1 and E2) and an event of ground cracking only (E1a, shortly after E1). Event E2 was accompanied by larger displacement than E1 and 1954, but this does not necessarily imply a stronger earthquake. Archaeological dating of transported ceramic sherds constrains E1 between 6750 and 4450 B.P. (more likely, 6450–5750 B.P.). Luminescence dating of colluvial deposits and 14C dating of pedogenic carbonates (stone coatings) place E2 at ∼17,500 +− ∼2500 B.P. (preferred age). In the (hazard‐wise) most conservative interpretation, recent recurrence intervals of ERZ activations exceed 3195 years. The sporadic nature of the 1954 ruptures precludes certainty on whether the ERZ has recorded every past activation of the DFZ unless data are also collected from other DFZ rupture zones. Minimum‐limiting estimates of 0.3–0.5 mm/yr slip rate are derived for the ERZ, and the true slip rate is not expected to exceed 1 mm/yr. Slip rate estimates for the ERZ may be minima for the DFZ slip rate, however, because coseismic deformation in the past may have been distributed to more than one rupture zones at the surface.

Following the M 7.0 earthquake that struck the Greek island of Samos and Turkey's western coast, causing extensive damage and casualties, we combined existing knowledge geodatabases concerning historical seismicity and rupture zones with seismological and geodetic measurements as well as with modelling and in situ observations, to provide an assessment of rapid response to the seismic event. In this paper, we demonstrate that in the frame of the gradual provision of information from the individual scientific disciplines, taking into account their respective potential and limitations, a multidisciplinary approach is able to address more efficiently rapid response issues in order to allow effective preliminary interpretation of the earthquake activity, even within the first 24 h of the event. It focuses on the assessment of the timely provision of information by each discipline, evaluating the access to primary data sources as well as the maturity of the techniques in terms of accuracy and rapid data processing. Within a period of less than a week, several constraints were partially compensated for, allowing the delivery of more robust results and interpretation. The study highlights the readiness level of the various domains that has been significantly improved over the past years, including rapid seismological solutions, systematic availability of free and open Earth Observation data and on-demand online processing through dedicated platforms. Their combination with routinely applied inversion modelling and timely in situ observation is leading to improved operational response levels. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11600-021-00578-6.

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