Santorini's first cruise ship this season nailed to the coast. At the beginning of the year, life on the island was paralyzed by a series of earthquakes. The arrival of tourists encouraged residents who were afraid that the shocks would negatively affect the tourist season.
From the end of January, thousands of seismic shocks have been reported in the area of the Cycladz Islands in the Aegean Sea. The strongest of them had a magnitude of 5.3, and at times the earth was shaking every few dozen minutes. Thousands of people then decided to leave the Islands, including Santorini popular among tourists. As part of preventive measures, schools were closed and construction works were suspended.
“We hope everything will return to normal”
In the following weeks the shocks were weakened. Local entrepreneurs were afraid, however, that seismic activity would discourage tourists. Many people canceled the spring reservations, but not everyone – on Sunday morning the first cruise officer nailed the island this year. There were about 1,700 people on board, primarily tourists from the United States.
“It is exciting that the island has been opened again, and we can visit it first,” said one of the Reuters agency tourists.
The locals added that they put hope in the return of tourists to the island. “We hope that everything will return to normal, that people will come back,” said the owner of one of the stores in an interview with journalists.
After the earthquake on the island, no serious damage was noted. Santorini authorities, however, announced that they would create an evacuation port to facilitate people with a safe escape in the event of a stronger earthquake.
Source of the main photo: Reuters