Greek island of Santorini sees strongest quake yet in weeks of highly unusual seismic swarm The latest of hundreds of earthquakes rattled the volcanic Greek island of Santorini on Tuesday after the strongest one so far with magnitude 5.3.
Medical staff staged a hospital evacuation drill as scientists say it's unclear whether the weeks of highly unusual seismic activity precede a larger quake.
Authorities last week declared a state of emergency on Santorini, where the incessant seismic activity has prompted the deployment of rescue crews with drones and a sniffer dog and put the coast guard and navy vessels on standby.
Although Greece lies in a highly seismically active part of the world and earthquakes are frequent, it is very rare for any part of the country to experience such an intense barrage of earthquakes for such an extended period of time.
Several more quakes with magnitudes between 4 and 4.8 and hit Tuesday with epicenters between the islands of Amorgos and Santorini, one of Greece’s most popular tourist destinations.
