The mayor of Santorini has called for calm after the island was struck by “intense” tremors for a fourth day in a row.
Schools remained shut and additional flights were scheduled on Monday to help people leave the popular holiday destination as quakes, some with a magnitude above 4, rattled Santorini every few minutes.
Tremors have been recorded between the volcanic islands of Santorini and Amorgos in the Aegean Sea since Friday.
Rock and debris were filmed cascading down the island’s steep cliffs on Monday. Disaster response units have been deployed on the ground as a precaution.
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In Santorini’s main town of Fira, local authorities designated gathering points for residents in preparation for a potential evacuation, though Nikos Zorzos, the mayor, emphasised the preventive nature of the measures.
“We are obliged to make preparations. But being prepared for something does not mean it will happen,” he said during a weekend briefing. “Sometimes, the way the situation is reported, those reports may contain exaggerations… so people should stay calm.”
Efthymios Lekkas, a professor of tectonic geology and disaster management, and part of a team of experts assessing the situation on the ground, told Greek television: “We estimate it [the activity] will continue for some days and there could be a lengthy seismic sequence.”
Officials said permanent residents were not particularly worried as they have been used to quakes but some who were on the island for work were moving out.
Aegean Airlines said it would operate three additional flights to and from Santorini on Monday and Tuesday to facilitate the travel of residents and visitors upon a request by Greece’s Civil Protection Ministry.
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Michalis Gerontakis, the director of the Santorini Philharmonic Orchestra, said: “I have never felt anything like this and with such frequency – an earthquake every 10 or 20 minutes. Everyone is anxious even if some of us hide it not to cause panic, but everyone is worried.
“We came out yesterday and performed. Despite the earthquakes, the philharmonic performed for a religious occasion.”
He added: “When you are playing, you cannot feel the quakes but there were earthquakes when we were at the church. No one can know what will happen. People can say whatever they like, but that has no value. You cannot contend with nature.”
Fire service rescuers who arrived on the island on Sunday set up yellow tents as a staging area inside a basketball court next to the island’s main hospital.
Ioannis Billias, a firefighter, said: “We arrived last night, a 26-member team of rescuers and one rescue dog,” adding that many residents, including entire families, spent the night in their cars.
‘Risk level escalates’
The crescent-shaped Santorini draws more than 3 million visitors annually to its whitewashed villages built along dramatic cliffs formed by a massive volcanic eruption – considered to be one of the largest in human history – more than 3,500 years ago.
That eruption, which occurred around 1620 BC, destroyed a large part of the island, blanketed a wide area of ash and is believed to have contributed to the decline of the ancient Minoan civilisation, which had flourished in the region.
Although it is still an active volcano, the last notable eruption occurred in 1950.
Gerasimos Papadopoulos, a Greek seismologist, cautioned that the current earthquake sequence – displayed on live seismic maps as a growing cluster of dots – could indicate a larger impending event.
“All scenarios remain open,” Mr Papadopoulos wrote in an online post. “The number of tremors has increased, magnitudes have risen, and epicentres have shifted north east. While these are tectonic quakes, not volcanic, the risk level has escalated.”
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