site.btaWe Are Calm, Ready to Leave if Required, Santorini-Based Bulgarian Alexandrina Todorova Says

Earthquakes continue on the island of Santorini, Greece. They are every 30 minutes, up to an hour. There are also larger earthquakes every few hours, said Bulgarian Alexandrina Todorova, who has been living on the island since 2018. Her home is near the Black Beaches of Santorini.

"We are calm, we are ready to leave in case we are required or there is a bigger earthquake," she said. 

She said the biggest earthquake so far was on Monday - 5.1 on the Richter scale, the others were around 4.6 to 4.8.

"It shakes slightly, about half a minute, no more," Todorova said.

People in the area are receiving information from the Ministry of Citizen Protection in Greece and the Municipality of Santorini. 

"What we were given by the Ministry is that in case of a bigger earthquake, we should leave our homes and go to a place where everyone from our region gathers. It is about 2 km from our house," Todorova explained. 

She clarified the measures taken on the island by the authorities: 

"Schools are closed until the end of the week, as well as kindergartens. All events have been cancelled. We have been instructed not to gather indoors. To be careful with construction sites, to avoid them. In the event of a larger earthquake, to gather in a place where it is safe."

According to Alexandrina, Santorini is currently out of season and most Bulgarian tourists are in Bulgaria. 

"Those who live in Santorini are very few. I spoke to some of them, they are at home and have no intention of leaving their homes," the Bulgarian said.

More than 200 underwater earthquakes have been recorded in the past three days, reported Associated Press. Authorities have deployed emergency rescue teams and closed schools on the islands of Santorini, Anafi, Ios and Amorgos until Friday.