February is a slow time on the Greek island of Santorini, which attracts more than three million visitors annually.
But after another week of almost constant earthquakes, the island took on an unusual silence. At least 13,000 of the 15,500 inhabitants of the island, nervous with frequent shaking, left in the last week. The streets are mostly abandoned, except for occasional tourists, most of which are from Asia.
Thousands of trembling, sometimes every few minutes, hit Santorini, about 150 miles southeast of Athens, and nearby islands from January 25th. The need initially reached the pinnacle of the Magnitude-5.2 earthquake on Wednesday northeast of Santorini. The Magnitude-5 opening was felt in Athens on Sunday night, and then hit the same area in the same area on Monday on Monday.
Most shivering was relatively small, but there were 160 shivers with Magnitud more than 4 in the first nine days of February, compared to 90 and forces for all last year, Vassilis Karastathis, Director of the Institute of Geodynamics on National Observatory of Athens said on Monday on Monday .
The prospects for Santorini, one of the most popular islands in Greece, remain unclear. Experts said it was impossible to make a reliable prediction about what to follow with shaking.
“There are signs of stabilization, but we have to see the further decline in the frequency of trembling to be sure,” said Mr. Karastathis, adding that earthquakes could continue for weeks. “A lot of seismic energy has been published, but we still can’t exclude a big earthquake.”
The shaking encouraged the authorities to close schools and prohibit a large closed gathering. Emergency workers are deployed to the island and landing are on standby for possible evacuation. Some areas of Santorini are engraved due to the fears of the landslide, and the sandbags are placed next to marine homes. Psychologists from the Red Cross Hellenic advised concerned residents, and priests kept prayers to stop earthquakes.
After a state of emergency was proclaimed last Thursday to ensure a quick release, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece said that all possible measures were taken. “We are preparing for the worst, hoping for the best,” he said during a visit to the island on Friday, urging residents to stay calm.
Many decided not to risk.
Giorgos Kalamatas, 37, who owns a company organizing a wedding fireworks in Santorini, returned to his family home in Athens last Monday with his wife and their three young children. “The constant shaking was nervous and we took care of the kids,” said Mr. Kalatas, 37, adding that he hoped he would return next weekend. “We’ll have to live with that.”
Others said they had no choice but to stay. Renia Bledaki, a 52-year-old makeup artist whose clients are mostly American, British or Australian brides who marry on the island, sent her two teenage girls to live in a cousin home in Athens last week. She remained behind her to look out for her aunt and uncle, who are older.
For a few days, she and her husband spent the night crushed to blankets while sleeping in their car. “We were in one car, and my aunt and uncle in another,” Mrs. Bledaki said, adding that during a greater trembling, “the car bounced.”
Scientists have said that the mistake of the mistakes that drives current earthquakes is different from the one that initiated catastrophic earthquakes up to 7.7 magnitudes in 1956, killing 53 people and causing broad damage.
The key question is whether the current trembling represents the “seismic swarm”, the shining sequence without a distinct main earthquake or whether the forerunner of a larger number of size is about 6, said Mr. Karastathis.
The scientific committee said last week that seismic activity was not associated with two volcanoes in the area and excluded the eruption. On Monday, scientists pulled underwater seismic monitors and installed new ones, hoping to collect more traces.
For Mrs. Bledaki, endless questions are the biggest headache. “Shall we have a 6 -level earthquake? Will our homes endure it? Will Columbo break out?” She asked, calling for a nearby flooded volcano. “It’s like a science fiction movie.”
Many of those who stayed in Santorini working at hotels, although most are closed. The annual renovation is in the recess, after the construction and repair work has been banned during the earthquake. “One employee was scared and left, and the other is not sure of a return in April,” said Antonis orPoulos, who owns three hotels on the island. He said he had not yet received fired for spring reservations and that the earthquake saw as “more inconvenience than the danger.”
The Ministry of Environment in the country stopped construction in Santorini’s Kalderi, the rim of an ancient volcano who gave the island its unique form, last November a year. The Ministry cited concern about over -development and asked hotel operators to conduct risk assessment. Quakes have come to life the questions about the stability of many structures there.
Hotels in the Fira and OIA cliffs are popular with tourists due to their spectacular views, they could be at most risk of landslide, said Dimitrios Papanikolaou, a professor of geology at the University of Athens, who said the foundations were made of harden lava and stone Pumica would be “light”.
“In these areas, a stronger earthquake could cause the parts of buildings like balconies and pools to crash,” he said.
Officials talked about the same risks during the 2011 earthquake, Mr. Papanikolaou added. “They talked about making buildings safer, but nothing happened,” he said. “Now they talk about it again, but when the earthquakes stop, we will probably forget, until it is repeated at 10, 20, 30 years.”
