Volcanic eruption and tsunami fears after Greek holiday hotspot hit by earthquakes

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We could soon be overwhelmed by volcanic eruptions and tsunami waves.

There's been a run of earthquakes with gaps of only a few minutes between each one this week.

from the near-constant tremors.

On Wednesday – the most powerful quake ever recorded since seismographs started registering activity on 26 January.

Kolumbo's about five miles north east of the island.

Authorities have not attributed the recent earthquakes to Kolumbo or the dormant volcano located within Santorini's bay, Nea Kameni.

But some geologists reckon the shake-ups that have rocked the Aegean area could be a sign that Kolumbo's getting ready to erupt.

The last time Kolumbo went off big time was 1650, spewing out ash that could be seen all the way in Turkey. The pyroclastic flows – fast-moving and bloody hot clouds of volcanic ash and gases – claimed 70 lives.

Scientists reckon it's unlikely to see a repeat of this, or that 1956 Amorgos earthquake, which hit a magnitude of 7.8 and copped 53 lives.

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Santorini is stuck out on the southern Aegean Sea, where the tectonic plates are always shifting. This means that the recent earthquakes might have been caused by the plates rubbing up against each other, stirring up the volcanic activity that's been brewing away beneath the island for ages.

Geology lecturer Avraam Zelilidis from the University of Patras reckons the swarm of quakes is due to volcanic activity.

a Greek television network

, said he is ‘99% certain’ Kolumbo will erupt.

“Santorini's starting to sound the alarm, we might see a small eruption and a tsunami, the bloke warned. If it erupts, the volcano could crack up and send tsunami waves crashing into the ocean.”

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While earthquakes can strike with little to no notice, volcanoes often provide some advance warning of an impending eruption. Magma's push through rock creates distinct types of tremors as it forces its way upwards, causing the land to deform in the process.

beneath the Kolumbo volcano.

A research scientist specialising in studying volcanoes and the Earth's structure, uses a very different tone in his assessment.

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‘Earthquakes can spark eruptions, but I’m not aware of it happening at Kolumbo or Santorini. The earthquakes have mostly been happenin’ outside of the volcanoes.’

Paulattoo mentioned that as seismic activity escalates in the coming days, an eruption is more likely to occur.

Civil defence officials are keeping an eye on Santorini's volcanic activity and said 'it seems there's a bit of a mild seismic- volcanic stirring going on'.

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