A strong earthquake was recorded between the Greek islands of Amorgos and Santorini, after a day of rolling trembling in the area.
More than 11,000 people have already left Santorini with about 7,000 ferry departures and 4,000 people leaving the air.
Quake was followed by two smaller trembling few minutes earlier, and was recorded at 9:09 pm Local time (19:09 GMT) as Magnitude 5.2 shivering, making it the strongest in recent days. It is estimated that it happened at a depth of 5 km.
So far, there has been no great damage to the island, but the authorities have taken precautions.
Santorini welcomes millions of tourists a year, but it is currently a low season, which means that local residents and workers make most of the evacuated.
Schools in Santorini – and other neighboring islands, including Anafa, Paros, Naxos and Mykonos – will remain closed until Friday, when the authorities will make a decision on when they can reopen.
Vassilis Kikilias, Minister of Climate and Civil Protection, said that units of firefighters specializing in natural disasters are shipped to Santorini. Teams with special dogs and mobile Operational Center have also been sent to the island, while helicopters are on standby in case of emergency.
Kikilias also said that the Coast Guard and Armed Forces would be available to help vulnerable people who want to evacuate.
Earlier on Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis achieved an optimistic tone at a meeting of civil protection experts.
“First of all, the state believes in science and scientists. We did it in other crises,” the Prime Minister said.
“All plans were carried out. Forces were moved to Santorini and other islands, so we are ready for any eventuality,” Mitsotakis emphasized.
“We will continue this way with a good hope that things will become better, and the phenomenon will decrease.”
Mitsotakis concluded his statement with an appeal to the ecclesiastics to “stay calm and cooperate with the authorities.”
“I understand the fear that I will be on Santorini, who is constantly shaking,” he added, emphasizing that the situation will be evaluated on a daily basis.
Santorini is on what is known as the Hellenic volcanic arch – the island chain created by volcanoes – but the last major eruption was in the 1950s.
Greek authorities have announced that recent trembling is related to the movements of tectonic plates, not volcanic activities.
Scientists cannot predict the exact time, size or place of earthquake.
But there are areas of a world where they are more likely to appear, which helps governments to prepare.
Earthquakes are the result of the movement of tectonic plates in the Earth’s crust. Sometimes these panels are locked when they meet, which is called the boundary of the board or the mistake of the mistakes.
Santorini and other Greek islands are close to such lines.
