ATHENS, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday that the Greek state mechanism has been fully mobilized to respond to any potential scenario, as a series of tremors continued to shake the area around the Santorini volcanic region.
"The entire state apparatus has been mobilized. All relevant contingency plans have been activated, and numerous state resources have been deployed to Santorini and neighboring islands. The state is now prepared for any eventuality," Mitsotakis said during a televised press briefing held at the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in Athens.
A total of 6,400 earthquakes were recorded in the Santorini and Amorgos islands region between January 26 and February 3, according to the University of Athens' Interdisciplinary Committee for Handling Threats and Crises on Wednesday.
The committee did not rule out the possibility of a stronger earthquake occurring in the near future, echoing warnings from several Greek seismologists over the past week.
Santorini is home to approximately 20,000 permanent residents, with around 5,000 tourists visiting during this period, a small fraction of the three million tourists who choose Santorini annually.
Greek authorities, who estimated that roughly 11,000 people have departed Santorini since seismic activity intensified over the past week, have dispatched experts and emergency teams to Santorini, Amorgos, and nearby islands. Tents have been set up in sports centers, and residents have been advised to take precautionary measures, avoid derelict buildings, cliffs, and shorelines, and refrain from indoor gatherings until further notice.
However, experts remain calm, emphasizing that Santorini is capable of withstanding such quakes. They reiterated that the ongoing seismic activity is tectonic in nature, not volcanic.
Santorini is part of the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, an active volcanic zone. However, no major volcanic disasters have occurred in modern history. ■