Since Friday, the Greek island and tourist hotspot Santorini and some of its neighbouring islands have been hit by a long series of earthquakes, which are now urging people to try and leave.
“Everything is closed. No one works now. The whole island has emptied”, Dori, a 18-year-old local resident, told news agency Reuters before boarding the ferry to Athens. “We will go to Athens until we see how things develop here.”
On Monday evening, tourists and locals have been queuing at the port of Piraeus to catch a ferry and leave the island, at least for the time being. Others hope for a spot aboard one of the extra flights arranged by the Greek authorities to transport people from Santorini to the Greek capital, Athens. According to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, a third of Santorini’s 16,000 residents have already temporarily left the island.
Please keep Greece in your prayers 🙏🏻🇬🇷🫶🏻
— Nicole Omholt (@NicoleOmholt) February 4, 2025
More than 200 earthquakes have hit the area near the island of Santorini since early Friday leading authorities to be on high alert; opting to shut down schools, dispatch rescue teams with K-9s, and have encouraged mass evacuations. pic.twitter.com/HMEbIcnGzC
“We’ve had earthquakes before but never anything like this. This feels different”, Nadia Benomar, a Moroccan tour guide who has lived on the island for 19 years who bought a ferry ticket Monday for the nearby island of Naxos, told Le Monde.”I need to get away for a few days until things calm down.”
While the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged islanders to remain calm during the EU Council meeting in Brussels on Monday, he acknowledged that it is indeed a “very intense geological phenomenon.” Mitsotakis encouraged everyone to heed the guidance of the Civil Protection Authority. At present, individuals are advised to stay away from the seaside, avoid indoor gatherings, and stay updated on the situation. In the meantime, schools remain closed.
The islands of Santorini and Amorgos are situated in the Aegean Sea, at the junction of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, leading to frequent quakes. However, the series of earthquakes that have been affecting the region since Friday—over 280 undersea quakes have been recorded so far, with the largest reaching a magnitude of 4.7 according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre—has left many locals and tourists concerned.
Greek authorities are also concerned about the events. Although there is no evidence to suggest volcanic activity, Professor Efthymios Lekkas, head of Greece’s Earthquake Planning and Protection Organisation, stated that the situation could continue for weeks.