Evacuation of Greece's Santorini island continues as tremors persist

Santorini shaken by ongoing tremors for six days, prompting thousands of tourists to evacuate. Authorities implement safety measures as seismic activity continues, raising fears of a major earthquake. 

Hundreds more people were expected to leave Greece's Santorini island on Wednesday as tremors shook the popular summer tourist destination for a sixth day.

About 6,000 people have left on ferries and planes in recent days as hundreds of small quakes were registered in the surounding sea, shaking buildings, kicking up dust on the island's rocky cliffs, and raising fears of a major earthquake.

The island's population swells in summer when millions of tourists visit the traditional white-painted villas that line its steep hillsides. The 2021 census puts Santorini's permanent population at 15,000, so it is likely that several thousand remain on the island, given that it is off-season.

Authorities have introdcued safety measures, including halting construction, shutting schools on Santorini and the nearby islands of Ios, Amorgos and Anafi, and ordering residents and hotels to empty their pools to reduce the burden on the ground.

Three ferry routes from the port of Piraeus to Santorini and vice versa were cancelled on Wednesday due to rough seas. Bad weather was not expected to disrupt six Aegean Airlines flights, including two emergency ones, scheduled for Wednesday.

Seismologists estimate that the high seismic activity could take days or weeks to abate, although locals and government officials said the shaking had subsided on Wednesday.

The government is due to hold a briefing over the situation later.

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