Authorities have released details of dozens of illegal buildings on the Greek island of Santorini, which seismologists say present a future earthquake risk. View on euronews

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Back then, flights and ferries were cancelled and tourists had to stay away from Santorini, the jewel in Greece’s tourism crown. But at least the islanders remained. Now, after three weeks of the outcrop in the Aegean being rattled by more than 20,000 earthquakes, even islanders have packed up and left.

Israeli geo-archeologist had studied ancient seismic activity of Santorini for decades, then happened to be on the island as the ground began shaking.

The swarm near Santorini appears to be related to the activation of a system of normal faults, fractures in the Earth’s crust where there is movement. Earthquakes are the result of a sudden release of tension built up by the movement along these faults.

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