Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced economic support measures for businesses and employees in Santorini and nearby islands shaken by the thousands of earthquakes since late January.

The University of Athens has recorded more than 14,000 tremors between 26 January and 9 February in the sea between the islands of Santorini, Amorgos, Ios and Anafi.

The activity has puzzled scientists, but so far has caused no damage or injuries, AFP reported.

A Santorini businessman said the island's tourism industry had already suffered.

"At this time of year all the shops were full of people coming on the cruises. Now which company will take the responsibility to bring a cruise ship closer to the island?" he argued.

In 2023. Santorini has attracted about 3.4 million visitors. Over a million of them came from cruise ships. This makes it one of the most visited places in Greece.

Mitsotakis acknowledged that the tremors were "causing financial damage to workers and businesses", announcing "special measures" to support them.

He said all private sector businesses operating on Santorini and the nearby island of Amorgos, which has also declared a state of emergency, could suspend salary payments from 1 February until 3 March 2025.

"Employees whose contracts are suspended will receive a targeted compensation of 534 euros corresponding to 30 days," the prime minister said, provided their employers commit to maintaining the number of jobs.

"We will support our islanders for as long and as long as it takes," he concluded.

Mitsotakis also announced that "schools in Tira, Ios, Anafi and Amorgos will remain closed until Friday, 21 February". The schools were first closed two weeks ago.

The majority of Santorini's nearly 16,000 residents have left the island.

Amorgos has fewer than 2,000 permanent residents. It is considered less threatened because of its rockier terrain and less development than Santorini.

Santorini sits atop a dormant volcano that last erupted in 1950.

Scientists say the region has not experienced seismic activity of this magnitude since records began in 1964.

On February 3, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogiani discussed strategy and the best measures to address emerging challenges facing the tourism sector during a meeting with island groups and associations.

"Santorini is an iconic Greek tourist destination and our priority is to ensure its stability and competitiveness," she said. | BGNES