Residents of Santorini island and tourists bord the ferry in order to flee the island after the recent seismic activity and the fears of a volcanic awakening or a larger scale earthquake. Santorini, Greece on February 4, 2025. [Getty]
Hundreds of earthquakes have rattled the Greek islands of Santorini, Amorgos, Anafi, and Ios – known collectively as the Cyclades – raising concerns among residents, officials, and scientists about a potential escalation in seismic activity that could disrupt neighbouring regions in the Eastern Mediterranean.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), earthquakes were occurring within minutes of each other as of 07:00 on Tuesday (17:00 GMT), with the largest recorded at magnitude 5.1 on Monday.
Over 11,000 residents have left Santorini, a major Greek tourist destination, with approximately 7,000 departing by ferry and 4,000 by air as of Wednesday.
In Turkey, over 100 earthquakes were recorded in the past 48 hours, according to the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) on Sunday.
“[The] earthquakes showed increased activity about 25 kilometres northeast of the island of Santorini, at depths between 5 and 25 kilometres. The closest earthquake to the shores of our country took place at a distance of 140 kilometres,” AFAD said in a post on X.
While no damage or injuries have been reported so far, Greek authorities have announced the implementation of precautionary measures in case a major quake strikes, heightening fears of potential widespread destruction.
Seismologists have stated that the ongoing tremors, occurring in clusters of similar magnitude, indicate a pattern that typically precedes a major earthquake.
Sky News reported that the series of tremors could either be foreshocks leading to a larger earthquake or part of a swarm of small quakes that may continue for weeks or months.
“There is no serious technology or approach to predict what will happen from here on,” Costas Papazachos, professor of applied geophysics and seismology at the University of Thessaloniki, told the UK news outlet.
The earthquakes originate from the uninhabited Greek islet of Anydros, located northeast of Santorini, according to DW.
While no definitive pattern has been established, scientists confirm that the current seismic activity has significantly intensified compared to previous incidents.
Historically, the region has experienced devastating seismic events, including a massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake in 1956, which generated a tsunami nearly 30 metres high and caused widespread destruction across Santorini, Crete, and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean.
