Mitsotakis visits Santorini as earthquakes keep rattling volcanic island

ATHENS

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis traveled to Santorini on Feb. 7, as intense seismic activity continues to shake the island.

The prime minister was accompanied by his climate crisis and civil protection minister as well as renowned natural disasters Professor Konstantinos Synolakis.

Greece’s leading seismologist will determine suitable sites for installing tide gauges, as none currently exist in the region. These instruments, which track sea level fluctuations, are essential for monitoring potential tsunami activity.

According to reports, the first device is set to be installed on Feb. 7. Meanwhile, Synolakis has not ruled out the possibility that a new volcano may be forming.

Visiting a fire department coordination center on the island, he stated that the goal of his visit was to oversee the preparation of the state services for the ongoing geological phenomenon.

“We are carefully listening to the directions and instructions of the experts. We will continue to monitor the phenomenon,” he noted.

Mitsotakis reassured the residents of Santorini and the neighboring islands that the state services are ready to support them.

“I recommend calmness, urging you to follow the instructions of civil protection, and we hope that the phenomenon will soon end, so life on the island can return to its normalcy,” Mitsotakis said.

Tremors on Santorini persisted throughout the night and into Feb. 7, with the strongest tremor, measuring 4.8 in magnitude, recorded shortly after 9 a.m.

The government declared a state of emergency on Santorini on Feb. 6 after hundreds of undersea earthquakes shook the resort island for nearly a week.

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis confirmed that multiple emergency services were already mobilized to support the island.

Despite causing minimal damage, the earthquake activity has prompted an exodus of thousands of residents and seasonal workers, mostly evacuating to the Greek mainland by ferry.