A series of earthquakes near the Greek island of Santorini have led authorities to shut down schools, dispatch rescue teams with sniffer dogs and send instructions to residents including a request to drain their swimming pools.
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Even though earthquake experts say the more than 200 tremors that have hit the area since early Friday are not related to the volcano in Santorini, which once produced one of the biggest eruptions in human history, locals are on edge.
The strongest earthquake recorded was magnitude 4.6 at 3.55pm on Sunday, at a depth of 14km (9 miles), the Athens Geodynamic institute said. A few tremors of over magnitude 4 and dozens of magnitude 3 have followed. There were no reports of damage or casualties.
Earthquake experts and officials from the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection and the fire service have been meeting daily and decided to close schools on Monday on Santorini as well as nearby islands Amorgos, Anafi and Ios.
After Sunday’s meeting, officials also advised residents and hotel owners in Santorini to drain their swimming pools over concerns that large volumes of water could destabilise buildings in case of a strong earthquake.
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Another meeting was scheduled on Sunday evening at the prime minister’s office with the chief of Greece’s armed forces and other officials.