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Schools were closed and emergency crews deployed on the volcanic Greek island of Santorini on Monday after a spike in seismic activity raised concerns about a potentially powerful earthquake. [AP]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Schools were closed and emergency crews deployed on the volcanic Greek island of Santorini on Monday after a spike in seismic activity raised concerns about a potentially powerful earthquake.<\/p>\n
Precautions were also ordered on several nearby Aegean Sea islands \u2013 all popular summer vacation destinations \u2013 after more than 200 undersea earthquakes were recorded in the area over the past three days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese measures are precautionary, and authorities will remain vigilant,\u201d Civil Protection Minister Vasilis Kikilias said late Sunday following an emergency government meeting in Athens. \u201cWe urge citizens to strictly adhere to safety recommendations to minimize risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Greek experts say the quakes, many with magnitudes over 4.5, are not linked to Santorini\u2019s volcano, they acknowledge that the pattern of seismic activity is cause for concern.<\/p>\n
The frequency of the quakes, which continued throughout Sunday night and into Monday, has worried residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have never felt anything like this and with such frequency \u2013 an earthquake every 10 or 20 minutes. Everyone is anxious even if some of us hide it not to cause panic, but everyone is worried,\u201d said Michalis Gerontakis, who is also the director of the Santorini Philharmonic Orchestra.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came out yesterday and performed. Despite the earthquakes, the philharmonic performed for a religious occasion,\u201d Gerontakis said. \u201cWhen you are playing, you cannot feel the quakes but there were earthquakes when we were at the church. No one can know what will happen. People can say whatever they like, but that has no value. You cannot contend with nature.\u201d<\/p>\n
Government officials met with scientists throughout the weekend and on Monday to assess the situation, while schools were also ordered shut on the nearby islands of Amorgos, Anafi and Ios.<\/p>\n
On Santorini, residents and visitors were advised to avoid large indoor gatherings and areas where rock slides could occur, while hotels were instructed to drain swimming pools to reduce potential building damage from an earthquake.<\/p>\n
Fire service rescuers who arrived on the island on Sunday set up yellow tents as a staging area inside a basketball court next to the island\u2019s main hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe arrived last night, a 26-member team of rescuers and one rescue dog,\u201d said fire brigadier Ioannis Billias, adding that many residents, including entire families, spent the night in their cars.<\/p>\n
Some residents and local workers headed to travel agents seeking plane or ferry tickets to leave the island.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had earthquakes before but never anything like this. This feels different,\u201d said Nadia Benomar, a Moroccan tour guide who has lived on the island for 19 years. She bought a ferry ticket Monday for the nearby island of Naxos. \u201cI need to get away for a few days until things calm down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others said they were willing to take the risk. Restaurant worker Yiannis Fragiadakis had been away but said he returned to Santorini on Sunday despite the earthquakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t afraid. I know that people are really worried and are leaving, and when I got to the port it was really busy, it was like the summer,\u201d Fragiadakis said. \u201cI plan to stay and hopefully the restaurant will start working (for the holiday season) in three weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crescent-shaped Santorini is a premier tourism destination with daily arrivals via commercial flights, ferries, and cruise ships. The island draws more than 3 million visitors annually to its whitewashed villages, built along dramatic cliffs formed by a massive volcanic eruption more than 3,500 years ago.<\/p>\n
Prominent Greek seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos cautioned that the current earthquake sequence \u2013 displayed on live seismic maps as a growing cluster of dots between the islands of Santorini, Ios, Amorgos, and Anafi \u2013 could indicate a larger impending event.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll scenarios remain open,\u201d Papadopoulos wrote in an online post. \u201cThe number of tremors has increased, magnitudes have risen, and epicenters have shifted northeast. While these are tectonic quakes, not volcanic, the risk level has escalated.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Santorini\u2019s main town of Fira, local authorities designated gathering points for residents in preparation for a potential evacuation, though Mayor Nikos Zorzos emphasized the preventive nature of the measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are obliged to make preparations. But being prepared for something does not mean it will happen,\u201d he said during a weekend briefing. \u201cSometimes, the way the situation is reported, those reports may contain exaggerations\u2026 so people should stay calm.\u201d [AP]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n