You may have heard in the news that there is some earthquake activity recently close to Santorini.
You may also know that Santorini has an “active” volcano and you are maybe worried that it will go boom💥!
So, now that we know where things are going, I wanted to sum up everything we know and everything you should be aware of:
1. ARE THERE REALLY THAT MANY EARTHQUAKES HAPPENING EVERY DAY IN SANTORINI THE LAST DAYS?
Yes and no.
The “Yes” goes to the fact that there are hundreds of small to medium earthquakes but they are not in Santorini but 25km (or about 10mi) away from Santorini deep in the sea and close to a remote greek island called Anydro.
This seismic activity started last Saturday and it’s still ongoing.
Nobody really knows what is happening the first few hours of an earthquake activity but now (after almost 5 days) scientists and geologists in Greece (some of the best in the world!) can now confirm this is a phenomenon called “earthquake sequence” where basically the energy from the ground is released in lots of smaller to medium earthquakes in several days rather than just the typical “boom” at once.
2. HOW LONG WILL THIS LAST AND HOW STRONG ARE THESE EARTHQUAKES?
Nobody really knows for sure how long these small earthquakes will last but now scientists believe these may last from a few weeks to 2-3 months.
By interpolating the sequence of the earthquakes up to now and comparing it with similar activities in the past (there are many of these in Greece every year but you may not hear about these because they are not related to Santorini!) scientists believe the most extreme scenario is an earthquake of 5.5-6 Richter that will definitely be felt in Santorini but it won’t cause any major casualties or disruption to anything.
Remember: these are not on the surface but deep in the sea and 25km away from Santorini.
3. IS THE VOLCANO GOING TO ERUPT?
Yes, the volcano is going to erupt and lava will cover all the magnificent hotels of Santorini.
I AM OBVIOUSLY JOKING!!!
These earthquakes have nothing to do with the volcano which is monitored with hundreds of underwater devices that are all reported to be stable.
Earthquakes do happen before volcanic eruptions but these are unrelated to the main Santorini volcano at Nea Kameni.
There are indications that it might be related to Kolumbo volcano which is a small one on the north side of the island, but an erruption is highly unlikely as scientists have reported today, as the energy is released slowly through smaller earthquakes throughout the days.
4. ARE PEOPLE EVACUATING THE ISLAND?
No, they are not.
Schools are just closed for this week as some precautions must be taken by the authorities. This is the government strategy that was drawn many decades ago. This is just the plan for such a scenario any ways!
Some people that are worried certainly have left the island but most of the locals and even visitors are still there.
5. ARE THE BUILDINGS SAFE IN SANTORINI?
Every building in Greece that has been built or renovated after 1990 is built with some of the stricter anti-earthquake structural regulations that are even stricter than the ones in Japan! (I am also a Civil Engineer and I know this first hand)
5. SHALL I CANCEL MY HOLIDAYS TO SANTORINI?
My opinion is that you shouldn’t cancel anythting, because there are no indications there will be anything catastrophic up to now. Quite the opposite actually!
Yes, you are visiting an area with an active volcano with extreme geology, so there is always a risk of falling debris and rock falling in general.
So, make sure to take any necessary precautions anywhere you go on the island.
In fact, I dare to say that because of this earthquake activity, prices for hotels in Santorini will probably be the cheapest you will ever see in your lifetime!!!
Thank you so much for the update! Our trip there is the end of May so hoping we will be fine. Have the quakes impacted the ferries or beaches at all?
Thanks for the wonderful content – it has been so helpful!
hi there,
There is currently a bit of disruption but nothing major to be honest.
All ferries are working normally but there might be some debris falling in beaches such Vlychada or Red Beach which have been closed a the moment as precautions from the authorities.
In May everything should be fine!