Meeting on earthquake activity near Santorini says current precautions must continue
Current precautions and advice for protection against earthquakes will continue to apply for the islands around the Anydros fault, which lies between Amorgos and Santorini, according to a meeting of expert scientists held on Sunday, 16 February 2025, to discuss the latest available data, during a joint session of the Permanent Scientific Committee for Seismic Risk Assessment and Reducing Seismic Danger and the Permanent Scientific Committee for Monitoring the Greek Volcanic Arc of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organisation (OASP).
The meeting, convened by OASP President Professor Efthymios Lekkas, also found a relative decline of seismic activity in the sea region of Anydros, where approximately 1,300 earthquakes greater than magnitude 3 have been recorded since February 1 (with the biggest being of magnitude 5.3).
According to a climate crisis and civil protection ministry announcement, the experts said that the current seismic activity was due to subsea faults with a northeast-southwest direction and formed part of the broader geodynamic framework of the area.
Based on the available data, this activity is due to a combination of tectonics and deeper magmatism, scientists said. They also noted that the seismic activity within the caldera remains at the same levels, while there is increased ground deformation in the area surrounding Santorini.
The inspections conducted so far have shown that public buildings are responding well to the seismic loads, they added. The ministry announcement said that schools on the islands of Santorini, Ios, Anafi and Amorgos will remain closed until next Friday, while the two committees will hold another joint session on Wednesday at 18:00.
The meeting was held at the climate crisis and civil protection ministry, in the presence of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias, Deputy Minister Evangelos Tournas, ministry officials, the Hellenic National Defence General Staff chief Lieutenant General Mikhail Klouvas and senior representatives of the fire department.
Source: AMNA
