The schools remained closed and evacuation flights were recorded when the popular Greek holiday island, Santorini, felt another increase in seismic activity over the weekend with more than 200 registered minor earthquakes. Emergency teams have been deployed with Greek authorities concerned with a potentially powerful earthquake in creation that could wreak havoc on the island.
The frequency of earthquakes, which continued throughout Sunday night and until Monday, has worried residents and visitors. Amid the development situation, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged citizens and tourists to show calm and listen to the authorities.
“We have a very intense geological phenomenon to handle. I want to ask our islanders to first remain calm, to listen to the instructions of civil protection (authority),” said Mr. Mitsotakis.
In Fira, the main city of the tourist island, civic bodies have allocated points for residents in preparation for possible evacuation, according to local media. informationWith Mayor Nikos Zorzos emphasizing that the measures were only preventive nature.
“We are obliged to make preparations. But being prepared for something does not mean that it happens,” said Zorzos.
“Sometimes, the way in which the situation is reported, those reports may contain exaggerations … so people must keep calm.”
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Volcanic eruption?
While the government has affirmed that earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 4.5 were not linked to the Santorini volcano, some experts have lent the alarm. In particular, the curved island in the Aegean Sea is around a flooded volcanic boiler.
The island is famous for its historical volcanic activity, particularly because of the massive minic eruption around 1600 a. C., which is considered one of the greatest in human history. Between 2011 and 2012, Santorini experienced a similar seismic swarm linked to the Magma Movement under the surface, but there was no eruption.
The most recent eruption in Santorini’s history was recorded in 1950, suggesting that the island’s volcano remains active but not necessarily on the edge of an eruption. Although there is no immediate danger, scientists continue to monitor the situation to understand if there is any indication of the Magma Movement or if it is only part of the usual tectonic activity in the region.
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