Third raft of emergency measures due to seismic activity near Santorini – New quakes in Amorgos

Thera, Greece, Santorini.- The third package of emergency measures was approved by the municipality of Thera (Santorini) on Tuesday due to the earthquakes that continued to jolt the area. The decision issued on Monday by the deputy mayor for civil protection Iakovos Lignos specifically mentioned the following:
“We are updating the measures taken with Decisions No. 27/2025 and 28/2025 of the Deputy Mayor of Thera, to take preventive civil protection measures due to the current seismic activity in the area of Thera. Among the measures are the closing of all schools, the cancellation of all events and gatherings in indoor areas until Friday, 7 February. Preventing access to the areas of Ammoudi, Armeni, Korfos Thirasias and the old port of Fira. Additionally, the municipality informs the citizens to avoid going near abandoned buildings and to choose safe routes for their movements within the town and on the rural roads, especially in areas where landslides may occur and to immediately depart from beaches in case of a strong earthquake and remove dangerous non-structural elements in their buildings (heavy hanging objects, false ceilings etc).
The municipality has also advised the emptying of water from swimming pools, banned all construction work and forbidden access to the Athinio port except when ships are docking.
Meanwhile, three earthquakes measuring 5.0, 4.8 and 4.7 on the Richter scale jolted the region on Tuesday at 15:03,  08:09 and 08:53, whose epicentre was located 22km, 19km and 17 km, respectively, south-southwest of Arkesini on Amorgos.

Seismic activity since June 2024

Over 2,500 earthquakes have been registered in the volcanic region of Santorini (Thera) and the Santorini-Amorgos zone from June 2024 to February 1, the University of Athens said in an extraordinary statement on Tuesday.
The Geology and Geoenvironmental Department at the National and Capodistrian University of Athens provided an analysis of all seismic activity since last year, adding that the unusually high production of earthquakes registering over 4 on the Richter scale began as of February 1. This trend of stronger earthquakes, particularly between Santorini and Amorgos where earthquakes are now registering 4 or more on the Richter scale, “does not exclude the possibility these are features of a pre-seismic sequence.”
The strongest earthquake between June 2024 and February 1 registered 3.8 on the Richter scale and occurred on January 25.
Specifically, the statement said, a sequence of low-intensity earthquakes began in June 2024 within the Santorini caldera, while the underwater Kolumbo volcano, around 8 km northeast of Santorini, has been seismically more active.
The microseismic epicenters in Santorini have been located mainly at the island of Nea Kameni (in the caldera) and the greater region of Imerovigli-Fira, along the ‘Kameni line’ in a northeast-southwest direction, while microseismic activity has been registered east of Kolumbo as well.
The University of Athens has set up permanent seismological stations on Santorini since 2011. New seismology stations are being established both on Santorini and nearby islands, the Seismology Lab statement said.

Source:amna.gr