“We put all our mattresses in the living room,” Georgia Nomikou says.
The resident of Santorini is afraid of the influence of earthquakes that are underway on the Greek island, popular with tourists because of his views with paintings.
But thousands of earthquakes were disturbed last week.
Santorini and other Greek islands in the region are in the midst of a “unprecedented” seismic swarm or crisis – the name for a sudden increase in earthquakes in a particular area.
About three -quarters of the 15,000 population of the island were evacuated, while the authorities declared extraordinary states after swinging the island of 5.2 Magnitud on Wednesday, the largest.
Furthermore, although smaller earthquakes, they felt again on Thursday.
The “clusters” of earthquakes confused scientists who say that such a pattern is unusual because they are not associated with great shock. So what’s going on?
What happens in Santorini?
Experts agree that the island is experiencing what the Greek Prime Minister called “an extremely intricate geological phenomenon.”
“It’s really unprecedented, we have never seen something like this before [modern times] In Greece, “says Dr. Athanassios Ganas, director of a study of national observatory of Athens.
Santorini lies on the Hellenic volcanic port – an island chain created by volcanoes.
But lately there has been no great eruption, not really since the 1950s, so the reason for the current crisis is unclear.
Experts say they see many earthquakes in a relatively small area, who do not match the form of a Niz Mainshock-Aftershock, says Dr. Ganas.
He said this began with the awakening of the volcano in Santorini last summer. Then there was a “rush” of seismic activity with smaller earthquakes in January.
This activity escalated in the past week.
Thousands of earthquakes have been recorded since Sunday, and Wednesday is the most significant so far.
“We are in the middle of a seismic crisis, “Dr. Gasnas said.
Dr. Margarita Segou from British geological research described the earthquakes how they happen daily “in the impulses”.
He says this “swarm behavior” means that when a significant earthquake hits, for example, magnitude four, “seismicity increases one to two hours and then the system relaxes again.”
How long will it last?
In short, it is impossible to say. There is hope that the Wednesday Earthquake, which hit at night, will be the largest that hit the island.
But seismologists have said BBC that it’s hard to be sure. Authorities warned that the activity could last for weeks.
Experts also do not know if this earthquake chain is scheduled for a large earthquake or their own event.
Professor Joanna Faura Walker, an expert in the geology of the earthquake at the UCL Institute for a disaster reduction of disaster, said some great earthquakes are predicted – elevated levels of small to moderate seismic events – before the main shock.
But what is happening now is not volcanic earthquakes, say Dr. Ganas. Volcanic earthquakes have a characteristic signature of low frequency waves and are not exposed here.
Dr Segou told the BBC that she and her colleagues analyzed the previous earthquakes in the machine with machine learning – a method of analyzing data that could have predicted – to find out how earthquakes in the 2002 and 2004 region were completed.
The size of these earthquakes was not as intense as she felt now she said. But “signatures” about how they started and finished could help build a picture that the patterns should be taken.
In the meantime, additional police units and military forces are arranged on the island to help him deal with any higher earthquake.
Ms. Nomikou, who is the president of the Santorini City Council, said her family had remained, but each packed a small bag, “ready to leave if anything happens.”
But some islanders say they are not gradually not gradually.
“I’m not afraid at all,” says Santorini’s resident, who decided to stay on the volcanic island despite the thousands of their neighbors who flee in the midst of an earthquake.
Chantal Metakides insists that he will not join his compatriots. “For 500 years, this house has been experiencing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and still stands,” AFP told the AFP news agency, adding: “There is no reason why that should change.”
