Earthquake Continues To Rock, Hundreds Of People Leave Greek Santorini Tourism Island

UNSPLASH/DAN ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Hundreds of people are expected to leave the island of Santorini in Greece as the quake rocked the popular summer tourist destination on the sixth day.

About 6,000 people departed on ferries and planes in recent days when hundreds of small earthquakes occurred in the surrounding sea, rocked buildings, caused dust on the island's rocky cliffs, and raised fears of a major earthquake.

The island's population swelled in the summer when millions of tourists visited traditional white-painted villas lined on the slopes of steep hills.

The census in 2021 states that Santorini's permanent population is 15,000 people, so it is likely that there are still several thousand people who still live on the island.

As reported by Reuters on Wednesday, February 5, authorities implemented safety measures, including halting development, closing schools in Santorini and nearby islands in Ios, Amorgos and Anafi, as well as ordering residents and hotels to vacate their swimming pools to ease loads on the ground.

Three ferry routes from the port of Piraeus to Santorini and vice versa were canceled on Wednesday due to poor sea waves. Bad weather is expected not to interfere with six Aegean Airlines flights, including two emergency flights, scheduled for Wednesday.

Seismologists estimate high seismic activity will take days or weeks to subside, although local residents and government officials say the shocks have eased on Wednesday.

"Today there are not many shocks, I haven't felt anything since 04.00," said Nikos Sakorafos, owner of a travel agent in Fira's popular tourist village.

"Now, it's a lonely season for this island, most people don't have jobs so it's easier for them to leave," he said.

The government will brief on this situation on Wednesday night local time.

Greece is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in Europe because it is located on the border of African and Eurasian tectonic plates whose interactions are constantly causing frequent earthquakes.

Santorini formed as it is now after one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, around 1600 BC. The last eruption in the region occurred in 1950.