“TINY” TREMORS
Roger Beauchamp from Arizona called the tremors “tiny.”
“We’ve been feeling them all day, little light ones. So we’re not afraid of them,” he told AFP.
The head of Greece’s earthquake planning and protection authority, Efthymios Lekkas, has said that a major earthquake of 6.0 magnitude was unlikely.
“The residents of Santorini should feel safe. There must not be panic,” he told Mega TV on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday also appealed for calm, whilst admitting that the phenomenon is “very intense”.
Santorini attracted about 3.4 million visitors in 2023.
European travel agents contacted by AFP said foreign visitors to Santorini at this time of year were minimal, with more bookings expected in the spring.
Ted Stathis, who runs a catamaran company and a sushi restaurant, said he expected the disruption to “blow over soon.”
“I have to admit, it’s something out of the ordinary,” the 54-year-old said.
“I mean, we have had tremors throughout the years, but sporadically. These are just many, many concentrated.”
“As long as they start subsiding, we should be in the clear,” Stathis said, noting that most of his reservations start later this month.
