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A huge increase in seismic activity has caused chaos on Greece’s most popular holiday island, with tourists issued with safety warnings.
A spike in seismic activity on Santorini has spooked many on the island with concerns about a potentially powerful earthquake.
Residents and visitors were advised to avoid large indoor gatherings and areas where rock slides could occur, while hotels were instructed to drain swimming pools to reduce potential building damage from an earthquake.
Precautions were also ordered on several nearby Aegean Sea islands — all popular summer vacation destinations — after more than 200 undersea earthquakes were recorded in the area over the past three days.
Earthquakes were still being felt on Monday morning.
Greek Aegean Airlines has added extra Santorini to Athens flights on Monday and Tuesday, reports suggest it is due to a rise in the number of people wanting to leave the island.
Video filmed by local media showed packed ferries leaving the island on Monday morning, with reports tourists are leaving the island.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) published guidance from the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection affecting both Santorini and the island of Amorgos.
The warning read: “The Greek Ministry of Civil Protection has issued advice for Santorini (Thira) and Amorgos, following increased seismic activity in the area. Schools will remain closed on Monday 3 February 2025, and people are advised not to attend large indoors gatherings and to avoid the ports of Amoudi and Old Port (Paleos Limenas) in the area of Fira.”
While Greek experts say the quakes, measuring up to magnitude 4.8, are not linked to Santorini‘s volcano, they acknowledge that the pattern of seismic activity is cause for concern.
“These measures are precautionary, and authorities will remain vigilant,” Civil Protection Minister Vasilis Kikilias said late Sunday following an emergency government meeting in Athens. “We urge citizens to strictly adhere to safety recommendations to minimize risk.”
The frequency of the quakes, which continued throughout Sunday night and into Monday, has worried residents.
“I have never felt anything like this and with such frequency — an earthquake every 10 or 20 minutes. Everyone is anxious even if some of us hide it not to cause panic, but everyone is worried,” said local resident Michalis Gerontakis, who is also the director of the Santorini Philharmonic Orchestra.
“We came out yesterday and performed. Despite the earthquakes, the Philharmonic performed for a religious occasion,” Gerontakis said. “When you are playing, you cannot feel the quakes but there were earthquakes when we were at the church. No one can knows what will happen. People can say whatever they like, but that has no value. You cannot contend with nature.”
Government officials met with scientists throughout the weekend and on Monday to assess the situation, while schools were also ordered shut on the nearby islands of Amorgos, Anafi and Ios.
Fire Service rescuers who arrived on the island on Sunday set up yellow tents as a staging area inside a basketball court next to the island’s main hospital.“We arrived last night, a 26-member team of rescuers and one rescue dog,” said fire brigadier Ioannis Billias.
Quakes continued rattling the island through the night and on Monday morning, many over magnitude 4.0, and Billias said many residents, including entire families, spent the night in their cars.
Crescent-shaped Santorini is a premier tourism destination with daily arrivals via commercial flights, ferries, and cruise ships. The island draws more than three million visitors annually to its whitewashed villages, built along dramatic cliffs formed by a massive volcanic eruption more than 3,500 years ago.
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.
“All scenarios remain open,” Papadopoulos wrote in an online post. “The number of tremors has increased, magnitudes have risen, and epicenters have shifted northeast. While these are tectonic quakes, not volcanic, the risk level has escalated.”
In Santorini‘s main town of Fira, local authorities designated gathering points for residents in preparation for a potential evacuation, though Mayor Nikos Zorzos emphasized the preventive nature of the measures.
“We are obliged to make preparations. But being prepared for something does not mean it will happen,” he said during a weekend briefing. “Sometimes, the way the situation is reported, those reports may contain exaggerations… so people should stay calm.”
Santorini was the site of one of largest volcanic eruptions in human history, which took place in the Bronze Age around 1620 BC, destroying a large part of the island and giving Santorini its current shape.
