Santorini shook from more earthquakes as uncertainty grows

Several more earthquakes have hit waters around the Greek island of Santorini just hours after the authorities have declared a state of emergency there.

The tourist hot spot is shaken by seismic activity this week with thousands of earthquakes recorded since Sunday.

On Thursday night, a magnitude 4,6 quake was registered at 20:16 local time (18:00 GMT) in the sea between Santorini and another island, Amorgos, followed by a trembling 4.2 magnitude approximately two hours later.

Santorini residents have started night patrols against the backdrop of fears of the island’s robbery, which is largely left empty as most residents have left.

More than 11,000 people have left as the authorities report that earthquakes are recorded at an interval of minute by minute.

Experts have warned that it is unclear when it can end this period of the “seismic crisis” on the popular tourist island.

On Thursday, Quakes were not as heavy as the shock with magnitude 5.2 that happened on Wednesday in the waters between the two Greek islands.

So far, no injuries have been reported and there was also no major damage on the island.

But the authorities are preparing in the event that the bigger hits of the earthquake. On Wednesday, they warned of a landslide risks for parts of the island.

The magnitude refers to the size of the earthquake, with increases being recorded as decimal points.

Magnitud 6.0 and more is considered heavy, while magnitude 5.2, the strongest experience so far in the region, is considered moderate.

On Thursday, Greek officials said that the emergency situation of the island would be available almost a month, until March 3.

Greece is one of the most prone to earthquake in Europe. Seismologists have told the BBC that it is difficult to predict how long the recent wave of seismic activity will last, with the authorities warning that it can last weeks.

“It’s really unprecedented, we’ve never seen anything like before (modern times) in Greece,” says Dr. Atanasis Ganas, director of research at the Athens National Observatory.

He said to the BBC: “We are in the middle of a seismic crisis.”

The “clusters” of the earthquakes that began on Friday are puzzled scientists who say that such a model is unusual because they were not related to great shock.

Dr. Ganas says they see many earthquakes in a relatively small area that do not correspond to the model of major shock and after shock sequence.

The rest of the island caused fears of a potential tsunami. They have built improvised protection from bags placed on the beach on the island Monolitos, where buildings stand very close to the water.

Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitotakis, who is expected to visit Santorini on Friday, struck an optimistic tone of a meeting of civil protection experts earlier Wednesday.

“All the plans are fulfilled. The forces have been moved to Santorini and other islands, so we are ready for any coincidence,” he said.

He asked the residents to “stay calm and to cooperate with the authorities.”

Santorini is what is known as the Hellenic volcanic arc – a chain of islands created by volcanoes – but the last major eruption was in the 50s.

The Greek authorities have said that recent tremor are related to the movements of tectonic plates, not volcanic activities.

Scientists cannot predict the exact moment, size or location of earthquakes.