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A swarm of earthquakes has rattled the Greek island of Santorini, one of the country\u2019s busiest tourist destinations, raising concerns about the stability of the region\u2019s dramatic, volcanic cliffs amidst a decades-long construction boom. <\/p>\n
Scientists warn the seismic activity could persist for weeks and haven\u2019t ruled out the possibility of a larger quake.<\/p>\n
This has sparked anxieties among experts who have long questioned the sustainability of Santorini\u2019s rapid development from quaint villages into a bustling tourist hotspot.<\/p>\n
The tremors prompted the government to declare a state of emergency on Thursday. It shut schools, deployed the army. Meanwhile, thousands of people left on planes and ferries.<\/p>\n
Authorities announced landslide warnings for five areas, including Santorini\u2019s main port, and cordoned off areas along the caldera – the rim of an ancient, sunken volcano whose sides plunge into the clear waters of the Aegean.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wanted to develop the island and didn\u2019t pay attention to environmental and safety issues,\u201d said Dimitris Papanikolaou, professor of geology at the University of Athens and former head of Greece\u2019s Earthquake Planning and Protection Organisation.<\/p>\n
The result, he said, was clear today: luxury hotels with pools and jacuzzis hanging off Santorini\u2019s landslide-prone slopes, where the volcanic soil is soft and unstable.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing should have been built in this zone,\u201d Papanikolaou said. \u201cIt\u2019s a danger zone for as long as the seismic activity lasts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Excessive tourism has raised concerns about water shortages and overcrowding across Greece in recent years. But Santorini is an extreme example. Millions visit its whitewashed cobbled streets and blue-domed buildings each year.<\/p>\n
Mathaios Kourgialis, who owns a small hotel at the top of the caldera, has received several cancellations this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we continue for another couple of months with this situation, the season will be lost,\u201d he said<\/p>\n
Natural disasters are not new to the island, which was formed by a volcanic eruption in 1600 BC and which experienced a devastating earthquake in 1956. A modern building boom began in the 1980s to lure back tourists.<\/p>\n
Even before the latest earthquakes, experts called for studies to assess whether buildings needed reinforcements.<\/p>\n
Passengers board a ferry bound for the Greek mainland, in the earthquake-struck island of Santorini (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)In 2021, a report by the Hellenic Society for Environment and Cultural Heritage commissioned by the island\u2019s authorities said there was an urgent need for a soil engineering study to assess the safety of the buildings on the caldera.<\/p>\n
Citing data from the Technical Chamber of Greece, it found many buildings had no permits, nearly a quarter of which where tourism businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is crucial…to immediately check the arbitrary construction taking place within the caldera,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
The environment ministry halted construction on the caldera in November for a year and has obliged owners to complete risk assessments or face having permits removed, said Dimitris Bakoyiannis, its secretary general for spatial planning and urban environment.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged calm when he visited the island on Friday and defended construction standards in an interview with Reuters.<\/p>\n
A cat sits on a domed roof in the town of Oia on the earthquake-struck island of Santorini (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)During his visit, Mr Mitsotakis inspected emergency preparedness facilities and announced a three million-euro (\u00a32.5 million) funding package for constructing an emergency evacuation route in the southern part of the island.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are preparing for the worst while hoping for the best. That\u2019s what a serious and organised state must do,\u201d Mr Mitsotakis said during a meeting with local officials.<\/p>\n
The heightened seismic activity has prompted authorities to implement additional precautionary measures, including restricting traffic in areas listed as vulnerable to rockslides.<\/p>\n
Army trucks have also brought electricity generators to Santorini, while rescuers were deployed earlier this week.<\/p>\n
Mr Mitsotakis visited Santorini a day after the government declared a state of emergency to allow authorities to have faster access to state resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sign up to Simon Calder\u2019s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discountsGet Simon Calder\u2019s Travel emailGet Simon Calder\u2019s Travel email I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our\u00a0privacy policy A swarm of earthquakes has rattled the Greek island of Santorini, one of the country\u2019s busiest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n