A state of emergency has been declared on the Greek island of Santorini after several days of consecutive earthquakes. This decision comes after a 5.2 magnitude tremor was recorded on Wednesday evening between the Greek islands of Amorgos and Santorini, the strongest recorded in recent days.
Officials stated that the decree will remain in effect until March 3 to address emergency needs and manage the aftermath. More than 11,000 people have already evacuated Santorini.
Another earthquake, measuring 4.7 in magnitude, was also recorded southwest of Amorgos at 7:50 AM local time on Thursday.
So far, no major damage has been reported on the island, but authorities are preparing in case a stronger earthquake strikes. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to visit Santorini on Friday.
Vasilis Karastathis, director of the Geodynamic Institute, told Greek state broadcaster ERT News that “seismic activity continues at the same intense rate as in the previous days.”
“We have a high number of earthquakes with magnitudes over 4,” he said.
Santorini attracts millions of tourists each year, but it is currently in the off-season, meaning that most of the evacuees are local residents and workers.
