Santorini rocked by more earthquakes as uncertainty grows
Hours after the authorities declared a state of emergency, several more earthquakes were hit by the waters around Santorini on the Greek island of Greece.
The tourist hotspot has been attracted by shocking earthquake events this week since last Friday.
On Thursday night, a magnitude 4.6 earthquake was recorded in the ocean between Santorini and another island, and then a magnitude 4.2 earthquake about two hours later, at 20:16 local time (18:00 GMT), and a magnitude 4.2 earthquake. .
Fearing about looting on the island, residents of Santorini have begun night patrols as most of the residents left the island, which was largely abandoned.
More than 11,000 people left the earthquake as authorities reported the earthquake.
Experts warn that it is not clear that the period could end during the “earthquake crisis” period on the popular tourist island.
So far, Thursday’s earthquake was not as severe as the magnitude 5.2 shocks occurred on Wednesday in the waters between the two Greek archipelagos.
So far, no injuries have been reported and there is no significant damage to the island.
However, authorities are preparing for a larger earthquake. On Wednesday, they warned of the risk of landslides in parts of the island.
Amplitude refers to the size of an earthquake, marked as a decimal point.
Amplitude 6.0 and above is considered serious, while 5.2, the strongest intensity in the region to date, is considered moderate.
Greek officials said Thursday that the island’s emergency was nearly a month until March 3.
Greece is one of the most prone countries in Europe to experience earthquakes. Seismologists told the BBC that it is difficult to predict how long the recent seismic activity will last, and authorities warned it could last for weeks.
“It’s really unprecedented, and we’ve never seen anything like this in Greece (modern) in Greece (modern)” said Dr. Athanassios Ganas, research director at the Athens National Observatory.
“We are in the middle of an earthquake crisis,” he told the BBC.
Those who remained on the island raised concerns about a potential tsunami. They built temporary defenses from sacks placed on the island’s monolithic beach, where the buildings are very close to the water.
Hospital employees on the island have been on standby, while additional ambulance personnel, police, soldiers and military vehicles have also arrived in Santorini, where medical staff are sent from another island, Naxos.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to visit Santorini on Friday, when he delivered an optimistic tone at a meeting of civil protection experts earlier on Wednesday.
“All plans have been implemented. Forces have been moved to Santorini and other islands so that we can prepare for any possible situations,” he said.
He asked residents to “stay calm and work with the authorities.”
Santorini is something known as the Greek volcanic arc – a chain of islands caused by volcanoes – but the last major eruption was in the 1950s.
Greek authorities said the recent tremor was associated with tectonic plate movements, not volcanic activity.
Scientists cannot predict the exact timing, size or location of an earthquake.
