Seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos cautioned that the earthquake sequence – displayed on live seismic maps as a growing cluster of dots between the islands of Santorini, Ios, Amorgos and Anafi – could indicate a larger impending event.
“All scenarios remain open,” Papadopoulos wrote online. “The number of tremors has increased, magnitudes have risen and epicentres have shifted northeast. While these are tectonic quakes, not volcanic, the risk level has escalated.”
Santorini draws more than 3 million visitors a year to its whitewashed villages, built along dramatic cliffs formed by a massive volcanic eruption 3500 years ago considered to have been one of the largest in human history.
The fault line activated with the most recent tremors was the site of Greece’s largest quake in the 20th century: a 7.7-magnitude event that struck in 1956, triggering a roughly 20-metre tsunami, causing significant damage in Amorgos and Santorini and killing more than 50 people.
“We’ve had earthquakes before but never anything like this. This feels different,” Moroccan tour guide Nadia Benomar, who has lived on the island for 19 years, said. She bought a ferry ticket on Monday for the nearby island of Naxos.
“I need to get away for a few days until things calm down.”
Tzanis Lignos, 35, said he had secured tickets off the island for himself, his wife and his son.
People wait for the ferry to arrive at Santorini on Monday.Credit: AP
“For three days now there have been earthquakes all the time, every five minutes. It is continuous. They don’t stop at all. The entire island is traumatised. No one could sleep last night, not my wife. There was a lot of noise. We went running outside, that is why we cannot stay here any longer.”
But local officials said permanent residents weren’t especially worried because they were used to quakes, and others were also willing to take the risk. Restaurant worker Yiannis Fragiadakis said he returned to Santorini on Sunday despite the earthquakes.
“I wasn’t afraid. I know that people are really worried and are leaving, and when I got to the port it was really busy, it was like the summer,” Fragiadakis said. “I plan to stay and hopefully the restaurant will start working [for the holiday season] in three weeks.”
Greece sits on multiple fault lines and is often rattled by earthquakes. So far, no significant damage has been reported from the recent spate of quakes.
The volcanic eruption that hit the island about 1600 BC formed Santorini in its current shape and blanketed the island in metres of ash. Experts say mild volcanic activity recorded near Santorini in recent days is not linked to the quakes.
