Santorini rocked by more earthquakes as uncertainty grows

Several more earthquakes have struck waters around the Greek island of Santorini just hours after authorities there declared a state of emergency.

The tourist hotspot has been rocked by days of seismic activity with thousands of earthquakes recorded since last Friday.

On Thursday evening, a 4.6 magnitude quake was recorded at 20:16 local time (18:00 GMT) in the sea between Santorini and another island, Amorgos, followed by a 4.2 magnitude quake roughly two hours later.

A majority of residents – more than 11,000 people – have already left the island as quakes are being recorded at a minute-by-minute interval.

Experts have warned it is unclear when this period of “seismic crisis” might end.

Thursday’s quakes so far have not been as severe as the 5.2 magnitude shock which occurred on Wednesday in waters between the two Greek islands.

So far no major damage has been reported on the island, but authorities are preparing in case a larger quake hits.

Magnitude refers to the size of an earthquake, with increases marked as decimal points.

A magnitude 6.0 and above is considered severe, where as a magnitude 5.2, the strongest experienced so far in the region, is considered moderate.