A series of earthquakes near the Greek island of Santorini have led the authorities to close schools, send rescue teams with sniff dogs and send instructions to residents, including a drain in their pools.
Even if experts in the earthquake say that more than 200 tremors that have struck the region since early Friday are not linked to the volcano in Santorini, which has once produced one of the greatest eruptions in human history, the inhabitants are at the limit.
The strongest recorded earthquake was of the magnitude of 4.6 to 3:55 p.m. on Sunday, at a depth of 14 kilometers (9 miles), said Athens Geodynamic Institute. Some tremors of more magnitude 4 and dozens of magnitude 3 followed. There was no report of damage or victims.
Experts in earthquake and officials of the Ministry of Crisis Climatic and Civil Protection and Firemen met daily and decided to close the schools on Monday on the island of Santorini as well as nearby Amorgos, Anafi and iOS.
After Sunday’s meeting, they also advised residents and owners of Santorini hotels to empty their swimming pools to fear that large volumes of water can destabilize buildings in the event of a strong earthquake.
Another meeting was scheduled for Sunday evening at the Prime Minister’s office with the chief of Greece the armed forces and other civil servants.
Ummu Nisan Kandilcioglu / Anadolu via Getty Images
The fire services sent a contingent of rescuers, including a dog sniffing on Saturday, and sent more forces on Sunday, as a precaution. The rescuers presented tents in open fields.
Residents of the island were advised to avoid major outdoor events and move to the islands aware of rock falls. The four islands have steep cliffs and, in the case of Santorini, a large part of the main city is built on a cliff.
Experts said it was impossible to predict whether seismic activity could lead to a stronger tremor, but added that the area could potentially produce an earthquake to 6.
Light earthquakes have also been recorded in the Santorini volcano caldera, which has been mainly underwater since September. The strongest with magnitude 3.8 occurred on January 25. Since then, seismic activity inside the volcano has calmed down, according to experts.
The eruption of the Santorini volcano around 1600 BC devastated the island, buried a city and caused earthquakes and massive floods that have had an impact on the island of Crete and as far as Egypt is concerned. Experts estimate that up to 41.3 cubic kilometers (9.8 cubic miles) of rocks have been ejected and 9 -meter tsunamis (29 feet) have struck Crete.
In the 1990s, the Santorini volcano was appointed one of the 16 volcanoes around the world which must be monitored due to past massive eruptions and proximity to dense populations.