A series of tremors have occurred in the seas around Santorini and adjoining islands over the past week, with dozens of small earthquakes being recorded.
An earthquake occurred at 15:29 on Saturday and had a magnitude of 4.4 on the Richter scale. The tremor was recorded 35.2 east-northeast of Thira, with the focal depth located at 2 km.
Earlier, the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens announced that at 14:51, a weak tremor was recorded with a magnitude of 4.0 on the Richter scale and an epicentre 22 km NE of Thira and a focal depth of 5 km.
The aftershock activity in the area is intense, with weak tremors ranging between 2-3 on the Richter scale.
On Wednesday, Greece’s Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Ministry issued an announcement on the recording of “mild seismic-volcanic activity” in Santorini’s caldera by scientists monitoring the Hellenic Volcanic Arc.
It followed a meeting of experts and state officials convened by minister Vassilis Kikilias, focusing on the implementation of preventative civil protection measures on the popular southern Aegean island.
Efthymios Lekkas, seismologist and head of the scientific monitoring committee for the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, who attended the meeting, told Greece’s public broadcaster that a “big explosion” is not expected anytime soon.
“What we must realise is that the Santorini volcano produces very large explosions every 20,000 years,” Lekkas, said on ERT television on Thursday.
“It’s been 3,000 years since the last explosion, so we have a very long time ahead of us before we face a big explosion.”
According to Lekkas, fluctuations in volcanic activity in the meantime can cause small earthquakes.
“The volcano is a living organism,” he said, adding that “we will not face a big explosion, but a mild procedure.”
The Permanent Scientific Committee for the Monitoring of the Greek Volcanic Arc is constantly monitoring the recent spike in volcanic activity, analysing data and updating plans for preventative actions, the Greek Ministry announcement said.
It added that similar volcanic activity had been observed in the span of 14 months during 2011 and 2012, concluding without a volcanic event.