February earthquakes took off tourists and brought debate on the safety of the island
Between 26 January and 22. February is Santorine shaken more than 20,000 smaller earthquakes, the worst it reached 5.3 on the Richter scale.
Due to the unpredictability of nature, Santorini temporarily left more than half of the eleven thousand inhabitants of the island. Earthquakes recalled residents and tourists that I constantly threaten the danger under an idyllic island, imbued with restaurants and apartments. Santorini is part of the volcanic archipelago in the Aegean Sea and is the remnant of a huge volcanic galdera, which caused the risk of re -eruption – the last one in 1950 – was not written off.
“Everyone knows about the danger of Vesuvi, while for Santorini people consider it safe because it is a tourist attraction. Many people are not aware that underwater volcanoes, such as those under Santorini, can be as dangerous or even more dangerous than those on the surface, « he is for BBC said Isobel yeovolcano expert.
Photo: Nicolas Economou/Reuters
Yeo, with a team of 22 scientists, set out the goal of finding out what was happening under the Greek island. The first goal of the team is to discover which parts of Santorini are dangerous, thereby creating a map for tourists and residents, marking dangerous points that must always be avoided.
« Although residents are accustomed to smaller earthquakes and are convinced that it will remain so, something can change quickly, » he warns.
She said, in February, earthquakes were mostly tectonic and not directly related to volcanic activity, although the island is located above the active underwater volcano Kolumbo, which is seven kilometers from the island. It is the Vulcan of the Columbo Volcano to study the researchers’ team in more detail.
Oceans researcher and geologist Eva nomikou However, the Vulcan has been studying the Columbus since 2001. She was told about the previous eruption by family members who always warned Eva of the danger, although it was not obvious.
« We are firmly convinced that the volcano will not break out, but we still have to control it, because there is a lot going on, » she decided on Cnn.
