Hundreds flee Santorini as quakes disrupt life

Bangkok Post Group

Hundreds of people packed a port in Santorini in the early morning hours of Tuesday to board a ferry and reach safety in Athens as a series of quakes kept shaking the famous Greek tourist island. - REUTERS

Transcript

00:00In the early hours of Tuesday morning, hundreds of people crowded the port in Santorini to

00:06board a ferry and reach safety in Athens.

00:09A tremor with a magnitude of 4.9 was recorded by the European Mediterranean Seismological

00:16Center on the Greek island, whose popular villages cling to steep cliffs over the sea.

00:22Here is Santorini's mayor, Nikos Zorzos.

00:29We must deal with it with patience and calm.

00:32This seismic activity may last many weeks.

00:37Since last Friday, hundreds of quakes have been registered every few minutes in the sea

00:41between the volcanic islands of Santorini and Amorgos.

00:50We have designated shelter areas on level surfaces for people without structures.

00:56There are eight places that can accommodate them.

00:59We have recorded all individuals with special needs who may require transfer at some point

01:03during an event.

01:16We have made a food distribution plan for those who will be outdoors.

01:22With seismologists estimating that the intense seismic activity could last for days or even

01:27weeks, people were advised to stay out of coastal areas.

01:32Schools in Santorini and the nearby islands of Eos, Amorgos and Anafi were also shut down

01:37until Friday.

01:39However, not everyone was eager to leave.

01:42Here is local resident, Eftichis Diamantopoulos.

01:48We will stay here.

01:49Why should we leave?

01:50If something happens, it happens.

01:52Oh well, we are locals.

01:54We were born here.

01:55We are guarding Thermopylae.

01:57There has been seismic activity.

01:59Whatever will happen, will happen.

02:00There is no reason to panic.

02:04Greece sits at the boundary of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, whose constant

02:09interaction prompts frequent quakes.

02:12It is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in Europe.

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