Multiple earthquakes rattling Greece's volcanic island of Santorini

Multiple earthquakes are rattling Santorini, a volcanic land successful Greece, prompting authorities to dispatch rescuers with tents, a sniffer canine and drones, and to unopen schools connected 4 islands.

Residents person been warned to debar indoor gatherings, cheque flight routes, enactment distant from cliffs and to drain swimming pools to trim imaginable structural harm to buildings successful the lawsuit of a ample earthquake.

Greece lies successful a highly seismically progressive portion of the world, and earthquakes are frequent. The immense bulk origin nary injuries and small oregon nary damage, but the state has besides seen deadly quakes. Earthquakes can't beryllium predicted, but authorities are taking measures arsenic a precaution.

Santorini, 1 of Greece's astir fashionable tourer destinations, took its contiguous crescent signifier pursuing a monolithic volcanic eruption successful antiquity. Now, millions of visitors each twelvemonth travel to spot its melodramatic scenery of whitewashed houses and blue-domed churches clinging to the cliff on the flooded caldera, oregon volcanic crater.

Last week, scientists said they had noticed accrued volcanic enactment successful the caldera but accidental this isn't linked to the earthquakes.

Here's a look astatine the existent situation:

What's going on?

About 200 quakes with magnitudes betwixt 3 and 4.9 were registered from Saturday to Monday day betwixt Santorini and the adjacent land of Amorgos, authorities said.

Seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos said connected Greece's ERT tv that the seismic enactment began connected Jan. 24, but intensified Saturday, with expanding frequence and magnitudes.

The responsibility enactment producing the existent earthquakes runs for astir 120 kilometers (75 miles), but lone the confederate portion betwixt Santorini and Amorgos has been activated. The earthquakes person epicenters beneath the seabed, astir 30-40 kilometers (18-25 miles) from immoderate of the islands. Scientists accidental this is bully news, arsenic an epicenter beneath onshore could perchance beryllium much destructive. But a ample quake could besides trigger a tsunami, truthful authorities person warned radical to enactment distant from coastal areas and caput inland if they consciousness a important earthquake.

So far, determination has been nary harm oregon injuries reported, though immoderate rockslides person occurred.

Could the earthquakes trigger a volcanic eruption?

Santorini lies on the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, which stretches from the Peloponnese successful confederate Greece done the Cycladic islands.

Last Wednesday, Greece's Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Ministry announced monitoring sensors had picked up "mild seismic-volcanic activity" wrong the island's caldera. Similar volcanic enactment had been recorded successful 2011, erstwhile it lasted for 14 months and ended without immoderate large issues.

Another volcano — a submarine 1 called Kolumbo — lies astir 8 kilometers (5 miles) northeast of Santorini, nearer to the epicenter of the existent earthquakes.

But seismologists accidental the quakes aren't related to the volcanoes.

A gathering betwixt authorities officials and scientists determined that seismic enactment wrong Santorini's caldera "remains astatine the aforesaid debased levels arsenic successful caller days," the Civil Protection Ministry said Monday, but that it was "particularly increased" betwixt Santorini and Amorgos.

What worries authorities?

Scientists are inactive trying to find definitively whether the aggregate quakes are foreshocks — smaller earthquakes earlier a large temblor. Papadopoulos said that determination was a "high probability" they are.

Santorini's main villages are built on the rim of the volcano's caldera — producing the melodramatic scenery of cascading whitewashed houses and sunset viewpoints that marque the land truthful fashionable but besides raising concerns successful the lawsuit of a large earthquake. The sheer cliffs besides marque immoderate areas prone to rockslides.

What precautions are being taken?

Authorities sent a squad of rescuers with a sniffer canine and drones to Santorini, wherever they acceptable up tents successful a hoops tribunal adjacent to the island's main infirmary arsenic a staging area. Push alerts person been sent to cellphones informing radical to enactment distant from areas wherever rockslides could hap and banning entree to immoderate coastal areas.

Residents and hotels person been asked to drain swimming pools, arsenic the h2o question successful a large quake could destabilize buildings. People person been told to debar aged buildings and cheque for exit routes erstwhile successful built-up areas.

Schools connected Santorini, arsenic good arsenic the adjacent islands of Anafi, Amorgos and Ios, volition stay unopen each week.

What's the history?

The responsibility enactment that has been activated was the tract of Greece's largest quake successful the past century: a 7.7 magnitude temblor dubbed the Amorgos earthquake that struck successful 1956, triggering a astir 20-meter (65-foot) tsunami, causing important harm successful Amorgos and Santorini and sidesplitting much than 50 people.

Santorini is besides the tract of 1 of the largest volcanic eruptions successful quality history. Known arsenic the Minoan eruption, it occurred astir 1,600 B.C. and destroyed overmuch of the formerly circular island, giving Santorini its existent shape. The eruption is believed to person contributed to the diminution of the past Minoan civilization.

Although it's inactive an progressive volcano, the past notable eruption occurred successful 1950.