Santorini declares state of emergency as tremors shake Greek holiday island and residents evacuate
Santorini declares state of emergency as tremors shake Greek holiday island and residents evacuate
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A state of emergency has been declared for the popular holiday destination of Santorini after hundreds of undersea earthquakes shook the resort island for nearly a week. Greece’s ministry of civil protection made the announcement - which will provide island authorities with extra resources - after a magnitude 5.2 tremor late on Wednesday. Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said that multiple emergency services had been mobilised to support the island.
"Fire departments, police, coast guard, armed forces, and emergency medical services have immediately reinforced Santorini and surrounding islands with additional personnel and specialized equipment," he told reporters. Despite causing minimal damage, the earthquake activity has prompted an exodus of thousands of residents and seasonal workers, mostly evacuating to the Greek mainland by ferry. At least 9,000 residents have left the island in the past week amid fears around the impact of the quake activity, although many have chosen to remain.
Experts say the seismic activity is unrelated to volcanic activity in the Aegean Sea, but are still unable to say whether the swarm could lead up to a more powerful earthquake. "We are not yet in a position to say that we are seeing any evidence that would lead to the sequence slowly coming to a conclusion," Vassilis Karastathis, a seismologist and director of research at National Observatory of Athens, said.
"We are still in the middle of the road, we haven't seen any easing, any sign that it's heading towards a regression.". The earthquake epicenters are concentrated in a growing cluster between the islands of Santorini, Anafi, Amorgos, and Ios. On Santorini, officials have cordoned off some areas in the island’s cliff top towns that were considered vulnerable to potential rock slides. School buildings have remained closed all week.
