Increased volcanic activity detected in Greece's popular tourist island of Santorini

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Increased volcanic activity in Greece’s famed tourist hotspot of Santorini has prompted the country’s civil protection minister to call a meeting with local and disaster response officials.

In an announcement late Wednesday, the Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Ministry said monitoring sensors had picked up “mild seismic-volcanic activity” in Santorini’s caldera. Similar volcanic activity had been recorded in the area in 2011, when it lasted for 14 months and ended without causing any issues.

Scientists monitoring the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, which stretches from the Peloponnese in southern Greece through the Cycladic islands, have noted an increase in activity in a central fault line in the northern part of Santorini’s caldera, the announcement said.

“According to the scientists, based on the currently available data there is no cause for particular concern,” it added.

The crescent-shaped island of Santorini is one of Greece’s most popular tourist destinations, drawing visitors from across the world for its whitewashed houses and blue-domed churches clinging to the cliff edge of the flooded caldera.

It was also the site of one of largest volcanic eruptions in human history, which took place in the Bronze Age around 1620 BC, destroying a large part of the island and giving Santorini its current shape. The eruption is believed to have contributed to the decline of the ancient Minoan civilization which had flourished in the region.

Although it is still an active volcano, the last notable eruption occurred in 1950.

“What we must realize is that the Santorini volcano produces very large explosions every 20,000 years,” Efthymios Lekkas, seismologist and head of the scientific monitoring committee for the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, said on Greece’s ERT television Thursday. “It’s been 3,000 years since the last explosion, so we have a very long time ahead of us before we face a big explosion.”

In the intervening time, Lekkas said, volcanic activity increases and decreases, and can cause small earthquakes. “The volcano is a living organism,” he said, adding that “we will not face a big explosion, but a mild procedure.”

Lekkas was among those who attended Wednesday's meeting called by Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias, along with the head of Greece's fire department, the deputy minister in charge of natural disaster recovery and several local and regional officials.