Landslide occurs on Greek island just next of Santorini

Video footage recently emerged, depicting the occurrence of a landslide that took place at around 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, on the Greek island of Therasia (also known as Thirasia).

Therasia is a small islet located just a couple of kilometers next to the famous main island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea, while the two were connected until about 1,600 BC, when they were separated by a volcanic eruption.

It is worth mentioning that Therasia is still technically part of the Santorini isles today.

Passersby on boats captured video of the landslide that took place right next to the island’s main port settlement of Korfos.

Luckily, there was no damage caused to the village, and nobody got hurt in the event.

The whole complex of Santorini is of volcanic origin, and as the Professor of Geology and Natural Disaster Management and president of the National earthquake prevention & Planning organization (OASP), Ethymios Lekkas explained, there are three main geologic reasons making the area prone to landslides.

Furthermore, the first reason is the island’s steep slopes, the second one is the area’s high seismicity, and the third one is the island’s geological morphology that consists of interlayered volcanic, lava, and pyroclastic rocks, the last of which erode easily and cause slope instabilities.

Finally, Dr Lekkas added that he brought this landslide risk matter to the attention of local authorities, also pointing out that a similar event in 2011 had caused the loss of one human life and left four more injured.