Hundreds flee Santorini as quakes disrupt life

Hundreds of people left Santorini on ferries and planes on Tuesday to reach safety in Athens as a series of quakes kept shaking the famous Greek tourist island.

Hundreds of quakes have been registered every few minutes in the sea between the volcanic islands of Santorini and Amorgos, in the Aegean Sea, in recent days, prompting authorities to shut schools in Santorini and the small nearby islands of Ios, Amorgos and Anafi until Friday.

A tremor with a magnitude of 4.9 was recorded by the Athens Geodynamic Institute at 0246 GMT on the island, most of whose popular white and blue villages cling to steep cliffs over the sea.

Hundreds of permanent residents and workers rushed to a port early on Tuesday to embark for the Greek capital.

Flights out of Santorini to Athens were full, Greek air carrier Aegean Airlines said on Tuesday. A total of 2,500 to 2,700 people were expected to have flown out since Monday by the end of the day, it added.

Greece is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in Europe as it sits at the boundary of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates whose constant interaction prompts frequent quakes.



Reuters