Seismic activity in the sea area between Santorini and Amorgos continues unabated. After the overnight earthquakes of 5.3 Richter and 5.0 Richter, successive earthquakes of more than 4 magnitude were recorded on Tuesday morning, with the largest ones measuring 4.8 and 4.9 Richter.
More than 13,000 tremors have been recorded since the beginning of the phenomenon. Seismology professor Dimitris Papanikolaou expressed the certainty that the 5.3 Richter earthquake was not the main one and he agreed with Professor of Natural Disasters Konstantinos Synolakis that the seismic activity will last for months. Special attention is also placed on the landslide map across Thira.
Speaking to Naftemporiki TV, Professor Synolakis pointed out that all the scenarios are on the table. Regarding the volcano, he said that “we must consider this possibility.
No one is talking about a major eruption. Santorini has had three small eruptions in the last 100 years.” “We cannot rule out such an eruption yet,” he noted, estimating that the state and local authorities can deal with the consequences of a small eruption, if and when it occurs.
On his part, Athanasios Ganas, director of Geodynamic Institute Research, speaking to Ertnews, stated: “Nothing can be considered normal in this seismic sequence. It has troubled us.” As he explained, this is a dynamic phenomenon that must be monitored constantly. “We cannot rule out continuous fluctuations in the frequency and intensity of the activity,” he added. He also noted that the epicenter, while shifted northeast, seems to be returning to its initial location. There is an instability in this sequence, which we have never seen before,” he stressed.
Ganas estimated that the activity will continue for at least 1-2 more weeks, while he said that the best scenario is to continue having earthquakes of this magnitude, without completely ruling out a 6 Richter earthquake.
