The Greece government declared a state of emergency on Santorini after hundreds of undersea earthquakes shook the island for nearly a week. This comes after a magnitude 5.2 tremor- the most powerful recorded since activity started on January 31- struck late Wednesday.
The earthquake epicenters are concentrated between the islands of Santorini, Anafi, Amorgos, and Ios. Owing to the earthquake activity, thousands of residents and seasonal workers have evacuated the island and moved to the Greek mainland by ferry.
A government official said that multiple emergency services had already mobilized to support the island, as per news agency Associated Press. The official said, “Fire departments, police, coast guard, armed forces, and emergency medical services have immediately reinforced Santorini and surrounding islands with additional personnel and specialized equipment."
Experts said that the seismic activity is unrelated to volcanic activity in the Aegean Sea, but they remain unsure about whether it could lead to a more powerful earthquake. Vassilis K. Karastathis, a seismologist and director of research at National Observatory of Athens, said, “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. We are still in the middle of the road, we haven’t seen any easing, any sign that it’s heading towards a regression."
