Over 6,000 people have fled Santorini, the famous Greek island, fearing a series of earthquakes that have been ongoing for 3 days.
Santorini has taken on a deserted appearance. Streets without people. Empty luxury hotels. Closed shops.
Where there used to be a lot of activity, today silence prevails on the famous island.
According to Greek media, over 6,000 people have left by sea and flights in the last 24 hours alone. While the day before, residents spent the night outside their homes.
During this period, renovation and maintenance of buildings is usually carried out to prepare for the summer tourist season. However, work has been stopped due to increased seismic activity.
Schools and kindergartens have also been closed, not only in Santorini, but also on 6 other nearby islands in the Aegean Sea.
Experts are monitoring the seismic situation. Emergency teams have been sent to the island. Seismological experts and journalists are also there to report on the developments.
The seismic tremors have not stopped today, and have continued throughout the night.
The strongest earthquake has reached a magnitude of 4.9. There is no major damage to buildings, but due to the continuous tremors, there have been landslides.
Greek seismologists estimate that they are facing two scenarios. Either this long sequence of earthquakes of magnitude 4.9 – 5 will continue for several days, perhaps even weeks; or there will be a stronger earthquake of magnitude 5.5 to 6, which will then alleviate the situation by releasing the accumulated energy. An earthquake of magnitude 6 is considered strong and extreme.
There have also been fears of a tsunami, because all earthquakes have an epicenter at sea.
