Santorini Struck by a Series of Earthquakes: Thousands of Residents Evacuate

Thousands Leave Santorini Amid Ongoing Earthquakes

Thousands of residents have left the Greek island of Santorini, which was again shaken by seismic tremors on Monday. Over 200 earthquakes have been recorded off the coast of this popular tourist destination in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea since Sunday.

The strongest tremor, measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale, occurred on Monday afternoon, according to the Geodynamic Institute of the Athens Observatory. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has warned about the geological intensity of the phenomenon, urging the population to remain calm in the face of these events.

Since the onset of the tremors, several thousand residents have vacated the island, which has a permanent population of 15,500, due to the intensity and frequency of the shocks, particularly in the last two days. By Monday afternoon, around a thousand passengers had boarded ferries heading to Piraeus, the major port located south of Athens. Additionally, over 1,000 people had already left the island on Sunday.

To facilitate the evacuation, Aegean Airlines arranged for extra flights on Monday and Tuesday to and from Santorini.

In light of the situation, all schools on the island, as well as those on the neighboring islands of Amorgos and Ios, will remain closed until next Friday.