A series of earthquakes near the Greek island of Santorini have led authorities to shut down schools, dispatch rescue teams with sniffer dogs and sent instructions to residents including a request to

Residents and tourists on the Greek island of Santorini have been put on high alert after an increase in seismic activity.

Thousands are fleeing the Greek island of Santorini in the southern Aegean Sea, rattled by continued intense seismic activity, according to local media. While many people anxious over the tremors left the island by ferry or plane, those who stayed are on alert, said public broadcaster ERT.

The hundreds of earthquakes that have rattled Greek islands on the Aegean Sea are a “seismic swarm” and could continue for weeks before eventually diminishing, the Santorini mayor told The Associated Press on Tuesday — pausing to chuckle as new tremors shook items on his desk.

Mitsotakis's remarks come as many people in Santorini spent Sunday night outdoors, amid fears of potential damages to buildings during the quakes. Some focal points of the tremors have been recorded at a depth of just 2km (1.2miles) below the surface.

Thousands of people evacuated Santorini after a series of earthquakes in recent days hit the picturesque Greek island with fears of additional tremors.

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has shared news of “a very intense geological phenomenon” ongoing around the popular Greek island of Santorini, urging for “calm” following tremors of up to 4.9 magnitude.

Thousands of people were leaving the Greek island of Santorini by sea and air for a third day as an unprecedented series of earthquakes shook the top travel destination.

Hundreds of quakes have been registered every few minutes in the sea between the volcanic islands of Santorini and Amorgos in the Aegean Sea since Friday, prompting authorities to shut schools in Santorini and the small nearby islands of Ios,

Hundreds of earthquakes that have rattled the Greek islands since last week have prompted the evacuation of thousands from the tourist hotspot of Santorini.