Schools were closed and emergency teams were deployed to the volcanic Greek island of Santorini today after a spike in seismic activity raised fears of a potentially major earthquake, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
Precautionary measures were also ordered on several nearby Aegean islands - all popular summer holiday destinations - after more than 200 undersea quakes were recorded in the area in the past three days. “These measures are preventive and authorities will remain vigilant”, Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said late Sunday after an emergency cabinet meeting in Athens. "We urge citizens to strictly follow safety recommendations to minimize the risk," he added.
Although Greek experts say the 4.8-magnitude earthquakes are not related to the Santorini volcano, they acknowledge that the way seismic activity is moving is a cause for concern. The frequency of the tremors, which continued throughout Sunday night and into Monday, has residents worried.
"I have never felt anything like this and with such frequency - an earthquake every 10 or 20 minutes. Everyone is worried, even if some of us hide it so as not to cause panic, but everyone is worried," said local resident Michalis Gerondakis, who is also the director of the Santorini Philharmonic Orchestra.
"We went out yesterday and played. "Despite the earthquakes, the Philharmonic performed on a religious occasion," Gerontakis said. "When you're playing, you can't feel the earthquakes, but there were earthquakes while we were in the church. No one can know what's going to happen. People can say whatever they like, but it doesn't matter." You can't fight nature.
Government officials met with scientists over the weekend and on Monday to assess the situation, while schools were also closed on the nearby islands of Amorgos, Anafi and Ios.
On Santorini, residents and visitors were advised to avoid large indoor gatherings and areas where rocks could fall, while hotels were instructed to drain their swimming pools to reduce potential damage to buildings.
Firefighters who arrived on the island on Sunday set up yellow tents on a basketball court next to the island's main hospital as a gathering place.
“We arrived last night, a 26-member rescue team and a rescue dog,“ said firefighter Yiannis Billias. The earthquakes, many measuring more than 4.0 on the Richter scale, continued to shake the island overnight and into Monday morning, and Billias said many residents, including entire families, spent the night in their cars.
Santorini, which is shaped like a crescent moon, is a top tourist destination with daily visits by commercial flights, ferries and cruise ships, the AP noted. The island attracts more than 3 million visitors a year to its whitewashed villages built along impressive cliffs formed by a major volcanic eruption more than 3,500 years ago.
Recognized Greek seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos warned that the ongoing series of earthquakes - shown on live seismic maps as a growing cluster of dots between the islands of Santorini, Ios, Amorgos and Anafi - could mean a larger event is coming. “All scenarios remain open,” Papadopoulos wrote in an online post. “The number of earthquakes has increased, the magnitudes have increased and the epicenters have shifted to the northeast. Although these are tectonic tremors, not volcanic, the level of risk has escalated.”
In Santorini’s main town of Fira, local authorities have designated gathering points for residents in preparation for a potential evacuation, although Mayor Nikos Zorzos stressed the preventive nature of the measures. “We have to prepare. But being prepared for something does not mean it will happen,” he said at a briefing over the weekend. "Sometimes the way the situation is reported, this information can contain exaggerations... so people should remain calm," he added.