Thousands Flee Santorini Due to Earthquakes, but Some Tourists Stay

By Staff, Agencies

Thousands have fled the Greek island of Santorini after hundreds of earthquakes shook the Aegean Sea in recent days.

Schools across a number of Greek islands have been shut as a result of the tectonic activity, but a handful of tourists have enjoyed having the views to themselves.

Images captured an exodus of residents and seasonal workers leaving the Cycladic Islands amid the earthquakes.

Families carrying young children, tourists dragging their suitcases, and car parks full of vehicles belonging to those who had left on a ferry were all common sights.

In Santorini's main town of Fira, the narrow, whitewashed streets were deserted - a rare sight even in the off-season - apart from small pockets of tour groups.

Hundreds of tremors have shaken the islands, some as strong as magnitude 5, since Friday.

Ferry and commercial flight operators have added additional services to accommodate the surge of people leaving.

The quakes have caused cracks in some older buildings but no injuries have so far been reported.

Schools on 13 islands were shut on Tuesday - up four from the previous day.

Santorini previously cancelled public events, restricted travel and banned construction work in certain areas.

Efthimios Lekkas, head of the state-run Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization, said the epicentre of the earthquakes was in the Aegean Sea and moving north away from Santorini.

He added there was no connection to the area's dormant volcanoes.

"This may last several days or several weeks. We are not able to predict the evolution of the sequence in time," Mr Lekkas told state-run television.

In Athens, government officials were holding daily planning and assessment meetings with briefings from island officials.