(Adnkronos) – About six thousand people have left the island of Santorini in the last 48 hours after the Greek island and nearby Amorgos were hit by over 200 earthquakes. As a source from the Greek coast guard told AFP, since Sunday 4,640 people have left the volcanic island aboard four ferries. Two other ferries are expected to leave Santorini today for the port of Piraeus, the largest in Greece near Athens.
The Greek airline Aegean Airlines said that yesterday it transported 1,294 passengers from Santorini to Athens on nine flights, including five extra ones. For today, Aegean Airlines has scheduled another eight flights “for a total capacity of over 1,400 passengers,” a statement from the airline reads.
The earthquakes continued today. According to the Geodynamic Institute of the Athens Observatory, a magnitude 4.9 earthquake was recorded in the Aegean Sea, 31 kilometers from Santorini. About three hours later, a second earthquake, measuring 4.7, was recorded in the same area, about 19 kilometers southeast of another tourist island in the Cyclades, Amorgos. Seismologists also recorded shocks of lesser intensity, confirming an activity that has intensified since Saturday.
“The scenario of earthquakes of magnitude 6 and above remains unlikely,” Efthymios Lekkas, president of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (Oasp), explained to the Mega television channel. “The people of Santorini must feel safe. There must be no panic,” he added. Yesterday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on the island’s 15,500 residents to remain calm. Meanwhile, schools have been ordered to close until Friday.
