ATHENS (Reuters) -Greek authorities have warned of an increase in seismic activity around the Aegean tourist island of Santorini, advising people to avoid four ports, empty their pools, refrain from gathering in indoor spaces and shut schools on Monday.
More than 200 tremors have been registered since Friday between the volcanic islands of Santorini and Amorgos, the civil protection ministry said in a statement on Sunday, citing experts tasked with assessing earthquake risks and monitoring Greece’s volcanic arc.
The experts, according to the ministry, have concluded that the tremors are not linked with volcanic activity and have proposed precautionary measures including the Feb. 3 school closures, which have been extended to the islands of Amorgos, Ios and Anafi.
They have urged people on Santorini to stay away from the small ports of Ammoudi, Armeni, Korfos and the harbour of Fira, which serves mainly cruise ships. Many of Santorini’s ports are surrounded by sheer rock faces.
In Athens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired an emergency meeting on the issue, as Santorini authorities prepared for a potential evacuation.
Tents were set up in an outdoor stadium, police and the fire brigade were on alert and special disaster response units were on standby.
Greece sits on multiple fault lines and is often rattled by earthquakes.
Costas Papazachos, a professor of geophysics and seismology, who went to Santorini to assess the situation, said the measures were precautionary and the worst-case scenario was an earthquake measuring 6.0 or more.
“This does not necessarily mean that there will be a strong earthquake, it may well be that the thermal energy dissipates and we have a smaller earthquake in Santorini… But we have to take measures,” he told the Greek website protothema.gr
Santorini, with whitewashed buildings clinging to its steep cliffs and black-sand beaches, is visited by about 3 million people annually.
One of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, around 1600 BC, formed the island in its current shape. The last eruption in the area occurred in 1950.
(Reporting by Renee MaltezouEditing by Sharon Singleton and Ros Russell)
