Santorini, Greece, continues to experience a series of earthquakes, raising concerns among experts and prompting evacuations. On February 8th, two earthquakes with magnitudes of 4.1 struck the region between Santorini and Amorgos, adding to the already heightened anxiety.
The recent tremors are not isolated incidents. Over the past two weeks, hundreds of earthquakes have rattled the region, leading to the evacuation of Santorini. Local authorities have issued warnings about the "high risk" of landslides in Santorini's volcanic caldera, particularly in the areas of Fira and Oia, two of the island's most iconic destinations. While seismologists agree that the likelihood of a major earthquake exceeding a magnitude of 6 on the Richter scale is low, they caution that seismic activity could persist for weeks or even months.
Seismologist Costas Synolakis, in an interview with Greek public television ERT, emphasized that the tremors could indicate significant changes in the island's subsurface. "If confirmed, we could be witnessing, for the first time in recorded history, the formation of a new volcano," the expert stated, clarifying that this does not imply the immediate emergence of a crater. He explained that this is a geological process that could take thousands of years before a new volcanic structure forms.