Greek islands hit by earthquake every 10 minutes, scientists say

More than 10,000 people have fled the Greek island of Santorini amid a series of earthquakes in the Cyclades region, with the strongest tremor reaching magnitude 5.0 on Tuesday afternoon.

Scientists at Greece’s Geodynamic Institute expressed growing concern over the unusual seismic sequence, which has produced 49 earthquakes above magnitude 4 in recent days.

“The situation is particularly unusual, unprecedented for Greek standards,” said Vasilis Karastathis, director of the Geodynamic Institute. “We observed seven earthquakes between 10 p.m. and morning, followed by two more above magnitude 4, and recently we reached 4.8.”

The earthquake epicentres have shifted towards Amorgos island in the northeast, which Karastathis said could potentially reduce impact on Santorini and neighbouring islands.

Athanasios Ganas, research director at the Geodynamic Institute, warned of a potential fault line near Anydro islet that could trigger a magnitude 6 earthquake. “We don’t want this scenario, as it could create a tsunami and cause landslides in Santorini’s caldera, potentially activating the Colombo volcano,” he said.

Scientists emphasised that while the current seismic activity might slightly affect the volcano, it would not cause an eruption. Both the underwater Colombo volcano and Santorini’s Kameni volcano showed minimal seismic activity months ago and are currently quiet, officials said.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has scheduled an emergency meeting at the Civil Protection Ministry for Wednesday at 1300 to address the ongoing situation.