Greece quakes: Schools closed, more flights, disaster units deployed in Santorini & nearby islands

As dozens of tremors shook the Greek island of Santorini for a fourth day, schools remained shut and additional flights were scheduled to help people leave the region on Monday. Schools were also closed in nearby islands of Ios, Amorgos and Anafi.

Tremors have been recorded between the volcanic islands of Santorini and Amorgos in the Aegean Sea since Friday.

Quakes, some with a magnitude of over 4, rattled Santorini every few minutes on Monday as people were advised to stay outdoor.

Disaster Management

Disaster response units were deployed on the ground.

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.

Local officials said that permanent residents were not particularly worried as they have been used to quakes but some who were on the island for work were moving out.

“We have a very intense geological phenomenon to handle,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said from Brussels, where he was attending a European meeting.

"I want to ask our islanders first and foremost to remain calm, to listen to the instructions of the Civil Protection (authority)."

Authorities banned access to some seaside areas, including the island's old port, that are in close proximity to cliffs.

“These measures are precautionary, and authorities will remain vigilant,” Civil Protection Minister Vasilis Kikilias said late Sunday.

Additional Flights

Aegean Airlines said it would operate three additional flights to and from Santorini on Monday and Tuesday to facilitate the travel of residents and visitors upon a request by Greece's Civil Protection Ministry.

Some residents and local workers headed to travel agents seeking plane or ferry tickets to leave the island.

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.

Greece sits on multiple fault lines and is often rattled by earthquakes.

One of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, around 1600 BC, formed Santorini in its current shape. The last eruption in the area occurred in 1950.