Residents rush to leave Santorini after earthquake island is struck by multiple tremors, causing landslides

Santorini locals are fleeing the island after the holiday hotspot was hit by hundreds of earthquake tremors that sparked landslides.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed the public from Brussels on Monday, expressing that authorities have been closely monitoring a significant geological event that has been occurring over the past few days. He urged the residents of the islands to remain calm during this period of heightened seismic activity.

Santorini and the nearby Aegean Sea islands are renowned for their stunning views from cliffs and the presence of a dormant volcano. However, these areas have experienced a series of hundreds of earthquakes since last week, with the most powerful one measuring at a magnitude of 4.9.

The neighbouring islands of Anafi, Ios and Amorgos have also been affected.

Recent days have seen an increase in seismic activity in the region, with more than 200 underwater tremors detected off the shores of various Aegean Sea islands. Among these tremors, the largest registered a magnitude of 4.9, causing concern among residents and authorities alike.

There has been a further 4.2 magnitude earthquake this morning north-west of the small island of Anafi, near Santorini. 

The committee stressed that the phenomenon was ‘not linked to volcanic activity.’

The quakes prompted authorities to send rescue units to the area and close schools Monday. Some areas have been declared off-limits because of rockslide risks.

On Monday, it was decided to shut schools on the four islands until Friday.

Footage taken on the island this morning, and shared on social media, shows the coastline of Santorini shaking violently with clouds of dust billowing into the air.  

Experts say the seismic activity that has hit the area since early Friday is not related to the volcano in Santorini, which once produced one of the biggest eruptions in human history. 

But the island’s 15,000 locals are on edge with some fleeing already and others choosing to sleep outside or in their cars.   

Efthymios Lekkas, president of the Organisation of Antiseismic Planning and Protection, told public broadcaster ERT on Monday that there was a ‘faint possibility of a 5.5-magnitude earthquake’, but ruled out one measuring over six. 

Britain and France issued travel warnings, urging their nationals to follow the advice of local officials.

Greek authorities have also asked people to avoid large gatherings in enclosed spaces and stay away from certain ports and derelict buildings. They are also urged the emptying of swimming pools.    

In Santorini´s main town of Fira, local authorities designated gathering points for residents in preparation for a potential evacuation, though Mayor Nikos Zorzos emphasised the preventive nature of the measures.

Greek media said several people spent the night outdoors, either in their cars or areas designated as safe by the authorities. 

‘This feels different’ – Kostas Sakavaras, a tourist guide who has lived on the island for 17 years, told AFP he had never experienced this level of seismic activity before.

‘It was shaking every three to four hours yesterday. This feels different from the other times,’ he said.

Sakavaras said he left the island on Sunday with his wife and two children, on a ferry that was full.

‘We plan to stay (on the mainland) until the end of the week. I think it’s going to escalate tomorrow and I hope then it will calm down,’ he said.

Aegean Airlines, Greece’s biggest carrier, said it had dedicated four additional flights to and from Santorini, and two on Tuesday after a request from the country’s civil protection ministry.

Operator Sky Express also said it had added two extra flights on Monday and Tuesday.

Ferry operator Attica Group said it was sending an additional ship late Monday and could contribute more if needed.

‘We are worried, we all want to leave… mainly for the children,’ said Dimitris Selistai, a 45-year-old labourer queueing outside a ferry ticket office.

Prominent Greek seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos cautioned that the current earthquake sequence – displayed on live seismic maps as a growing cluster of dots between the islands of Santorini, Ios, Amorgos, and Anafi – could indicate a larger impending event. 

Earthquake experts and officials from the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection and the fire service have been meeting daily and decided to close schools Monday on the island of Santorini as well as nearby Amorgos, Anafi and Ios.

After Sunday’s meeting, they also advised residents and hotel owners in Santorini to drain their swimming pools over concerns that large volumes of water could destabilize buildings in case of a strong quake.

Another meeting was scheduled at the prime minister’s office with the chief of Greece’s armed forces and other officials.

The fire service sent a contingent of rescuers including a sniffer dog on Saturday, and dispatched more forces Sunday, as a precaution. The rescuers have pitched tents in open fields.

Island residents have been advised to avoid large open-air events and to move about the islands mindful of rockfalls. 

The Santorini archipelago is made up of the inhabited island of Santorini and Therasia, as well as the uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni and the slightly further afield Christiana.

All four of the main islands have steep cliffs and, in the case of Santorini, a large part on the main town is built on a cliffside.

Experts said it was impossible to predict whether the seismic activity could lead to a stronger tremor, but added that the area could potentially produce a 6 magnitude quake.

Mild earthquakes have also been recorded in Santorini’s volcano caldera, which is mostly undersea, since September. The strongest one with magnitude 3.8 occurred on Jan. 25. Since then, seismic activity inside the volcano has subsided, experts say.

The Santorini volcano eruption at about 1600 B.C. devastated the island, buried a town, and caused massive earthquakes and flooding that impacted the island of Crete and as far as Egypt. 

Experts estimate that up to 41.3 cubic kilometers (9.8 cubic miles) of rocks were ejected and 9-meter (29-foot) tsunamis hit Crete.

In the 1990s, the Santorini volcano was designated a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI). 

The Decade Volcanoes are 16 volcanoes around the world that need to monitored because of past massive eruptions and proximity to dense population areas.

The tourist island braced for the prospect of more tremors after more than 200 small earthquakes shook the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history. 

Some 200 minor earthquakes were recorded in the sea and surrounding islands in just 48 hours, with the strongest, of magnitude 4.6, striking the waters between Santorini and Amorgos on Sunday afternoon.

The spate prompted Greece’s civil protection late on Saturday to order schools closed down into Monday, while tents sprang up to house rescue teams sent to the island in response.

Authorities and experts said the tremors were triggered by tectonic rather than volcanic activity – dampening fears of a destructive eruption. 

But with the surrounding seas home to several significant fault lines in the Earth’s crust, the possibility of a stronger earthquake to come could not be ruled out, said Kostas Papazachos, Professor of Geophysics at Thessaloniki Aristotle University.

‘That is why there are some precautionary measures in place, precisely to limit the impact of a stronger earthquake,’ Papazachos told ERTNews on Sunday morning.

‘When you have a sequence next to you that is so vivid, so intense, you have to be a bit careful, precisely because there is always the risk of that happening.’

Greek authorities called for citizens to avoid large gatherings in enclosed spaces and stay away from certain ports of Santorini, derelict buildings and empty swimming pools of their water.

In case of a strong tremor, all citizens are called to get to high ground as far inland as possible.

The same measures are likewise in place for the neighbouring small islands like Amorgos.

Greece’s fire service in the southern Aegean Sea region was on general alert, while a rescue service team with a search dog, helicopter, drones was already at the scene.

An emergency meeting was scheduled to be chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. 

Santorini is one of the most popular Greek islands with tourists. It has a population of just 15,500 but welcomed 3.4million visitors in 2023, raising concerns over overtourism.

Locals have increasingly voiced their outrage at the perceived over-saturation of the picturesque isle in the Aegean, with 17,000 tourists expected to arrive each day in the peak holiday season, according to councillor Panos Kavallaris. 

‘I work seasonally here in Santorini,’ one commenter said on TikTok. ‘There is no respect for the island or for us, from garbage, to times when the buses don’t take us.’

Late into the 20th century, Santorini was a sleepy idyll where most locals profited more off agriculture than tourism.

Visitor numbers grew from the 1960s as it gained a reputation for its stunning views and iconic architecture – but development on the island failed to keep pace.

Mr Kavallaris previously urged residents in a since-deleted Facebook post to stay at home and avoid the 17,000 tourists he said authorities expect to arrive on the island per day.

‘Another difficult day for our city and island is ahead with the arrival of 17,000 visitors from cruise ships. We ask for your attention: limit your movements as much as possible,’ the councillor said, but the post quickly caused outrage among locals.

Residents criticised the councillor’s request, with one commenting on social media: ‘[He] officially asks locals to lock themselves at home, so that tourists can wander around free. Marvelous.’

In 2024 Santorini Mayor Nikos Zorzos proposed to cap the number of cruise ship passengers arriving on the island to 8,000 a day – a move backed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. 

The measure is due to be introduced this year. However, some holidaymakers have claimed that the image of the island swamped by tourists is not accurate. 

‘The truth is that the island is empty. Right now is like never before, it’s the worst season ever,’ Gianluca Chimenti, a local tour operator who has lived in Santorini for 18 years, said in August 2024.

TikTok and Instagram were awash with videos last year of people packed into the narrow streets of the island’s most popular spots – the capital Fira and the village of Oia.

But despite July and August being high season on the island, town centres were reportedly dead in many areas after 9pm.

Many of those who are flocking to the island’s main attractions are cruise ship passengers, with Santorini a key stop on Greek cruises’ itineraries.

Video shared by one tourist in late July appears to show the streets of Oia all but deserted – with the footage seemingly taken before an influx of visitors arrived.