Surge in earthquake activity prompts state of emergency on island of Santorini

Greeces government declared a state of emergency on Santorini on Thursday after hundreds of undersea earthquakes shook the resort island for nearly a weekThe ministry of civil protections announcement will provide authorities faster access to state resources It follows a magnitude 52 tremor the most powerful recorded since activity started on Jan 31 that struck late WednesdayGovernment spokesman Pavlos Marinakis confirmed that multiple emergency services were already mobilized to support the islandFire departments police coast guard armed forces and emergency medical services have immediately reinforced Santorini and surrounding islands with additional personnel and specialized equipment he told reportersDespite causing minimal damage the earthquake activity has prompted an exodus of thousands of residents and seasonal workers mostly evacuating to the Greek mainland by ferryExperts say the seismic activity is unrelated to volcanic activity in the Aegean Sea but are still unable to say whether the swarm could lead up to a more powerful earthquakeWe are not yet in a position to say that we are seeing any evidence that would lead to the sequence slowly coming to a conclusion Vassilis K Karastathis a seismologist and director of research at National Observatory of Athens told reporters We are still in the middle of the road we havent seen any easing any sign that its heading towards a regressionThe earthquake epicenters are concentrated in a growing cluster between the islands of Santorini Anafi Amorgos and Ios Experts view the underwater location as a mitigating factor noting that it significantly reduces the potential for widespread damage compared to landbased seismic eventsOn Santorini municipal crews cordoned off some areas on the islands renowned cliff top towns that were considered vulnerable to potential rock slides Crews of engineers also inspected school buildings that have remained closed all weekThe islands Orthodox church has urged residents to assist each other during a time of great anxietyIsland life intensely communal has taught us to be close to one another in the happy the sad and the difficult times the Metropolitan Bishop Amphilochios of Thira Amorgos and Isles said in an online messageThis is how we will face the present condition while it lasts he added And by Gods grace we will strengthen ourselves on the path of progress and creation for the good of our islands and their blessed inhabitants our brothers and sistersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever