Numerous residents flee Hundreds of earthquakes in Santorini - the worst is probably yet to come

An ongoing series of earth tremors on the Greek island of Santorini is triggering a mass exodus. More than a third of the inhabitants have already left the island. Experts warn of a possible main quake.

More and more people are leaving the Greek vacation island of Santorini. The reason: New earth tremors have heightened fears of a major earthquake.

Greek media report that more than a third of the 16,000 inhabitants of Santorini alone have fled to Athens and other mainland destinations. Most of the passengers on the large ferries are women and children.

Numerous earth tremors were measured again on Tuesday night. The strongest reached a magnitude of 4.9.

More than 200 earth tremors since Sunday

More than 200 earth tremors have been recorded since Sunday. Numerous earth tremors were measured again on Tuesday night. The strongest reached a magnitude of 4.9.

According to the Geodynamic Observatory in Athens, the earthquake was centered around 30 kilometers off Santorini in the Aegean Sea. Just over three hours later, there was a magnitude 4.7 quake in the same region, followed by other smaller quakes.

According to experts, further tremors are to be expected in the coming days.

"It's the first time something like this has happened"

However, it is unclear how long the seismic activity will last. "It's the first time something like this has happened", said Athanassios Ganas from the Geodynamic Observatory on television. There had been more than 40 quakes of magnitude 4.0 or higher within 72 hours. "We have never experienced anything like this before."

Greek seismologists expect that the main quake is still to come. Only then will it be possible to say whether the accumulated seismic energy in the region has been released. The magnitude of such an earthquake could be between 5.5 and 6.

In this area, the dangers are still relatively low; it is said that poorly built houses are particularly at risk. However, no one can say for sure whether a main quake could reach a magnitude of 7, in which case massive damage would be expected.

The experts cannot give the all-clear, especially as earth tremors tend to increase in magnitude. They also warn of tsunamis. Disaster control precautions are running at full speed.

Thousands of people on the run

Out of fear, around 6000 people had left the island in the Aegean Sea by Tuesday. Between Sunday and Tuesday morning, 4640 people set off for the mainland on board four ferries, as reported by AFP.

The airline Aegean Airlines reported that it transported 1294 passengers from Santorini on nine flights on Monday. Five of the flights were special flights. For Tuesday, the airline scheduled eight flights "with a capacity of more than 1400 seats". Two ferries were also scheduled to leave the island.

"I haven't slept for days, the children and women are crying, it shakes every five minutes," one islander was quoted as saying by the German Press Agency on Tuesday.

Tourism, which brings more than three million visitors to the island every year, is at a low ebb at this time of year, meaning that almost only locals are on site.

Memories of 1956

Santorini lies on a dormant volcano that last erupted in 1956. Back then, two quakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.2 and the subsequent tsunamis in the region claimed dozens of victims and caused severe damage.

However, a committee of experts declared on Monday that the current phenomenon was "not related to volcanic activity".

With material from AFP.