People Flee Quakes Shaking Area Around Greek Island of Santorini
Source: Balkan Insight
Intense seismic activity over the past 48 hours around Santorini, the Greek island famous for its sunsets, has prompted many residents, workers and tourists to flee the island.
Landslides struck Santorini itself due to seismic activity on Monday. The Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection alerted residents via the emergency number 112, banning access to the areas of Ammoudi, Armeni and the Old Port of Fira in Santorini.
Earlier, a message was sent about prolonged seismic activity in the wider area of the islands of Ios, Amorgos, Santorini and Anafi – all favourite summer destinations for foreigners and Greeks alike.
Tania, 46, a geologist who has been working on Santorini for more than five years, told BIRN that many people she knows have left the island while others have lined up at ticket offices for ferry tickets.
“The only thing that worries me is the stability of the house I live in,” she told BIRN, adding: “There is a strong misunderstanding among people about what the experts are saying.”
Acting on a request from the Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, the Greek airline Aegean has added three emergency flights to and from Santorini to enable people to leave. Two flights were added for Monday and another for Tuesday February 4.
“We have to manage a very intense geological phenomenon. I want to ask the islanders to be calm and listen to the instructions of the Civil Protection [department],” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said from Brussels.
A strong earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale occurred on Monday in a maritime area, 19 kilometers north-northwest of Anafi.
It was preceded by quakes measuring 3.6, 3.1 and 3.6 on the Richter scale a short time earlier. Earlier, two other earthquakes occurred off Amorgos, which measured 4.7 and 4.2 on the Richter scale.
On Monday, schools remained closed on Santorini, Anafi, Ios and Amorgos, while the authorities urged islanders to avoid gatherings, abandoned buildings and some ports of the islands.
Over the last 48 hours, more than 200 earthquakes have been recorded between Santorini and Amorgos. On Saturday 85 were recorded, and on Sunday, 78, seven measuring above 4 on the Richter scale.
A meeting led by Prime Minister Mitsotakis was held on Sunday at which scientists participated. The state machinery has been put on alert reflecting increased concern about seismic activity.
Since January 24, in the sea area between Santorini and Amorgos, over 380 earthquakes were recorded. Vasilis Karastathis, director of the Geodynamic Institute told the Greek news agency the quakes “are clearly of tectonic origin”.
The original article: belongs to Balkan Insight .
