Thousands scramble to leave Greece holiday island by sea and air amid fresh tremors

Thousands of people were leaving the Greek island of Santorini by sea and air for a third day as an unprecedented series of earthquakes shook the top travel destination.

Some 6,000 people have already left the island, known for its spectacular cliffside views and a dormant volcano, which has been hit by hundreds of tremors since last week, officials said.

A quake with a magnitude of 4.9 hit yesterday amid other smaller tremors. No injuries or damage were reported on Santorini and the neighboring islands of Anafi, Ios and Amorgos, which have also been affected by the seismic activity.

Experts say the region has not experienced seismic activity on this scale in recent history and do not know how long it will last.

"This is the first time this is happening, we have not seen it before," Athanassios Ganas, research director at the national observatory's institute of geodynamics, said. He noted that the area had been hit with over 40 earthquakes with a magnitude of over 4.0 in the past 72 hours.

Santorini lies atop a volcano which last erupted in 1950 - but an experts' committee has said the current phenomenon was "not linked to volcanic activity."

According to the Greek coast guard, over 4,600 people have left the island by ferry since Sunday alone.

The country's leading air carrier Aegean Airlines said it had flown nearly 1,300 people out of Santorini on Monday, with another eight flights expected to carry 1,400 passengers scheduled yesterday.

Ferry services to Santorini have also been increased.

Schools on all four islands have been shut as a precaution until Friday, prompting many locals with children to leave until the situation stabilizes.

Some tourists currently on the island say they are not overly concerned.

"I'm not so worried about the earthquake or volcano because I came from Tokyo," said Water Saito, a 43-year-old economist. He noted that the tremor levels in Santorini are negligible compared to the earthquakes experienced in Japan.

Roger Beauchamp from Arizona called the tremors "tiny." He added: "We've been feeling them all day, little light ones. So we're not afraid of them."

The head of Greece's earthquake planning and protection authority, Efthymios Lekkas, said a 6.0 temblor was unlikely. "The residents of Santorini should feel safe. There must not be panic," he added.

Agence France-Presse