Santorini was hit by earthquakes this week (Image: Getty)
There are fears that constant construction on the cliffs of a beautiful Greek island will risk the safety of its residents and visitors.
Santorini has been told to stop building new hotels for tourists following hundreds of earthquakes that hit the tourist hotspot this week.
Scientists have warned that the seismic activity could last for several weeks and have not ruled out a larger earthquake happening, leading many to question the sustainability of the island’s visitor numbers.
“They wanted to develop the island and didn’t pay attention to environmental and safety issues,” said Dimitris Papanikolaou, professor of geology at the University of Athens and former head of Greece’s Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization.
He said that the aftermath of this could be seen during the quakes, with the pools and jacuzzis of luxury hotels hanging off Santorini’s landslide-prone slopes.
Santorini is a beloved tourist destination (Image: Getty)
“Nothing should have been built in this zone,” Papanikolaou added. “It’s a danger zone for as long as the seismic activity lasts.”
The government declared a state of emergency during the tremors, shutting schools and deploying the army as thousands fled on planes and ferries.
Five areas, including the main port, were subject to landslide warnings. Authorities also cordoned off the caldera, the rim of the ancient sunken volcano.
Even before the latest earthquakes, experts were calling for studies to assess whether buildings across Santorini needed reinforcements.
In 2021, a report by the Hellenic Society for Environment and Cultural Heritage commissioned by the island’s authorities found there was an urgent need for a soil engineering study to assess the safety of the buildings on the caldera.
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Citing data from the Technical Chamber of Greece, it found many buildings had no permits, nearly a quarter of which were tourism businesses.
“It is crucial … to immediately check the arbitrary construction taking place within the caldera,” the report said.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged calm when he visited the island on Friday and defended construction standards in an interview with Reuters.
“We have a very strict building code which is applied across the country, especially in those areas that are more earthquake prone,” he said. “That’s why we feel very, very confident that everything that could be done, has been done.”