February is a slow time on the Greek island of Santorini, which draws more than three million visitors a year.
But after another week of almost steady earthquakes, the island has taken an unusual quiet. At least 13,000 of the 15,500 inhabitants of the island, without frequent shaking, have left last week. The roads are mostly deserted, except for occasional tourists, most of them from Asia.
Thousands of terror, sometimes every few minutes, have pulled Santorini, about 150 miles southeast of Athens and the nearby islands since January 25th. The climb initially peaked in size-5.2 on Wednesday northeast of Santorini. An earthquake-5 was felt in Athens on Sunday night, and then a 5.3-quake hit the same area late Monday.
Most of the horrors were relatively small, but there were 160 horror in size over 4 in the first nine days of February, compared to 90 by this force for last year, Vassilis Karastathis, Director of the Institute of Geodetic Athens, he said Monday.
The prospect for Santorini, one of the most popular islands in Greece, remains unclear. Experts said that making a reliable prediction of what would come next with shaking was impossible.
“There are signs of stabilization, but we need to see a further decline in the frequency of the horror to be sure,” Mr Kastathis said, adding that earthquakes could continue for weeks. “A lot of seismic energy has been released, but we cannot yet exclude a major earthquake.”
The shake has pushed the authorities to close schools and prevent high internal gatherings. Emergency workers have been installed on the island and landing boats are on standby for possible evacuations. Some areas of Santorini have been removed due to landslide fears and sand dunes have been created next to seaside houses. Psychologists from the Greek Red Cross have advised the residents who were worried and the priests made prayers to stop the earthquakes.
After a state of emergency declared last Thursday to ensure that help could be released quickly, Greek Prime Minister Mitotas said all possible actions were taken. “We are preparing for the worst, and we hope for the best,” he said during a visit to the island on Friday, urging residents to remain calm.
Many chose not to risk it.
Giorgos Kalamatas, 37, holding a business organizing a wedding fireworks in Santorini, returned to his family home in Athens last Monday with his wife and their three young children. “The constant shake was nervous and we were worried about the kids,” said Kalamatas, 37, adding that we hoped to return next weekend. “We have to live with it.”
Others said they had no choice but to stay. Renia Bledaki, a 52 -year -old makeup artist whose customers are mostly American, British or Australian brides marrying on the island last week sent her two teenage children to live in a relative in Athens. She was left behind to take care of her aunt and uncle, who are elderly.
For several days, she and her husband spent the night accumulated in blankets as they slept in their car. “We were in a car and my aunt and uncle in another,” Ms Bledaki said, adding that during bigger terms, “the car bounced”.
Scientists have said that the error line that activates current earthquakes is different from the one that launches destructive earthquakes up to 7.7 in size in 1956, killing 53 people and causing extensive damage.
The key question is whether the current terrorists are a “seismic flock”, a sequence of horror without a separate main earthquake or if it is a precursor to a larger Temblor of a size of around 6, Mr Kastatis said.
A scientific committee said last week that seismic activity was not associated with two volcanoes in the area and excluded an explosion. On Monday, scientists recovered underwater seismic screens and installed young people, hoping to gather more indications.
For Mrs Bledaki, endless questions are the biggest headache. “Will we have a 6 -level earthquake? Will our houses stand it? Will Columbo explode? “Asked, referring to a nearby submerged volcano.” It’s like a science fiction movie. “
Many of those who have stayed at Santorini’s work in hotels, even though most are closed. Annual renovations are in vacuum, as construction and repair work has been banned during earthquakes. “An employee was scared and left and others are not sure of the return in April,” said Antonis Iloopoulos, who holds three hotels on the island. He said he has not yet received cancellations for spring reservations and saw earthquakes as “more hazard from danger”.
The country’s Ministry of Environment stopped construction at Caldera, Santorini, the brink of an ancient volcano that gave its unique shape to the island last November for one year. The ministry reported concerns about excessive growth and asked hotel operators to carry out risk ratings. Earthquakes have revived questions about the stability of many structures there.
Hotels in the areas of the Rhodes and OIA rock, popular with tourists for their spectacular views, could be at greater risk of landslides, said Dimitris Papanikolaou, a professor of geology at the University of Athens, who said that Foundations made from hard -feding lava and the Pumice Stone would be “impossible”.
“In these areas, a stronger earthquake could cause buildings to collapse such as balconies and pools,” he said.
Employees discussed the same dangers during a flock of earthquake in 2011, Mr Papanikolaou added. “They talked to make buildings safer, but nothing happened,” he said. “Now they talk about it again, but when the earthquakes stop. We will probably forget it until it happens again in 10, 20, 30 years.”
