Earthquake 5.2 after hundreds of quakes, Santorini proclaims a state of emergency

The decision comes after a 5.2 quake was registered at 21:09 local time Wednesday between the Greek islands of Amorgo and Santorini, making it the strongest in recent days. The quake is estimated to have occurred at a depth of 5km.

The decree will be in effect until March 3rd to address the emergency needs and manage the consequences”, officials said.

More than 11,000 people have already left Santorini, with about 7,000 headed by ferry and 4,000 by air.

An earthquake of 4.7 magnitude also registered south-west of Amorgo at 7:50 p.m. with Thursday's local time, after 57 quakes between midnight and 06:30.

So far, no major damage to the island has been reported, but authorities are taking precautions and caring if a larger earthquake is hit.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to visit Santorini on Friday.

Vassilis Karastathis, director of the Geodynamic Institute, told ERTNas that “sism continues at the same pace as the previous days, intensive”.

“We have a very high number of magnitude earthquakes over 4”, he said. /euronews