Consultants say the area has not skilled seismic exercise on this scale in current historical past they usually have no idea how lengthy it’s going to final.
“That is the primary time that is occurring, we’ve not seen it earlier than,” Athanassios Ganas, analysis director on the nationwide observatory’s institute of geodynamics, instructed state TV ERT.
He famous that the world had been hit with over 40 earthquakes with a magnitude of over 4.0 previously 72 hours.
Santorini lies atop a volcano that final erupted in 1950 – however an consultants’ committee on Monday stated the present phenomenon was “not linked to volcanic exercise”.
In line with the Greek coastguard, over 4,600 folks have left the island by ferry since Sunday.
The nation’s main air service Aegean Airways stated it had flown almost 1,300 folks out of Santorini on Monday, with one other eight flights capable of carry 1,400 passengers scheduled for Tuesday.
Ferry companies to Santorini have additionally been elevated
Faculties on all 4 islands have been shut as a precaution till Friday.
Some vacationers at present on the island say they aren’t overly involved.
“I am not so anxious concerning the earthquake or volcano as a result of I got here from Tokyo,” stated Water Saito, a 43-year-old economist who spent a day on the island.
He famous that the tremor ranges in Santorini are negligible in comparison with the earthquakes skilled in Japan.
“TINY” TREMORS
Roger Beauchamp from Arizona known as the tremors “tiny”.
“We have been feeling all of them day, little mild ones. So we’re not afraid of them,” he instructed AFP.
The top of Greece’s earthquake planning and safety authority, Efthymios Lekkas, stated {that a} extra threatening earthquake of 6.0 magnitude was unlikely.
“The residents of Santorini ought to really feel secure. There should not be panic,” he instructed Mega TV on Tuesday.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday additionally appealed for calm, while admitting that the phenomenon is “very intense”.
Santorini attracted about 3.4 million guests in 2023.
European journey brokers contacted by AFP stated overseas guests to Santorini presently of yr had been minimal, with bookings anticipated within the spring.
Ted Stathis, who runs a neighborhood catamaran firm and a sushi restaurant, stated he anticipated the disruption to “blow over quickly”.
“I’ve to confess, it is one thing out of the peculiar,” the 54-year-old stated.
“I imply, we’ve had tremors all through the years, however sporadically. These are simply many, many concentrated.”
“So long as they begin subsiding, we must be within the clear,” Stathis stated, noting that the majority of his reservations begin later this month.
