For more than two weeks, the residents of Santorini, Amorgos and the other islands of the Cyclades have been living with the fear of an earthquake while a chilling rumble is constantly heard and the anxiety over the possibility of a major earthquake is escalating.
In recent days – and while there were expectations for a gradual easing of activity – the frequency and intensity of the phenomenon have increased. A 5.0 magnitude earthquake occurred at 03:14 early on Wednesday. This was followed by successive earthquakes of at least 4.
Most experts now agree that the phenomenon could last for many weeks or even months. There are no secure scientific conclusions about the causes or the possible evolution of this seismic activity. The question of whether the activity is connected to the volcano also remains open.
Asked whether the seismic activity is associated with the volcano, seismology professor and representative of the seismic and volcanic hazard committees, Costas Papazachos, explained that there are two volcanoes in the area, the Santorini volcano, which is in the caldera, and the underwater volcano Kolumbo, which is outside Santorini.
“Regarding the caldera volcano, nothing has changed since the end of January, when a relevant announcement was made. That is, there is a mild seismic upsurge in Santorini, which is due to the activity of the volcano that began around the summer. This is a permanent phenomenon that does not concern us at the moment because it evolves slowly. However, it exists and we explained in January that it is a separate phenomenon.
As for Kolumbo, at the moment the sequence is very far from the volcano. There is no indication that there is activity in Kolumbo, such as to raise suspicions… For the time being, in the eastern side of Santorini, we are mainly concerned over the seismic sequence in the Anydros islet,” he said in statements to public broadcaster ERT.
