One of Greece’s famed tourist islands is experiencing a surge in volcanic activity, leading to a warning from authorities.

The Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Ministry had a meeting with local officials and disaster response teams on Wednesday following the detection of “mild seismic-volcanic activity” within Santorini’s caldera.

Monitoring sensors picked up the activity, echoing a similar event in 2011 which lasted 14 months without incident.

Scientists observing the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, a geological formation spanning from southern Greece’s Peloponnese region through the Cycladic islands, have reported increased activity along a central fault line in the northern section of Santorini’s caldera.

While the current activity is described as mild, authorities are taking precautionary measures given the island’s popularity as a tourist destination.

A map of Santorini:

“According to the scientists, based on the currently available data there is no cause for particular concern,” the announcment added.

The crescent-shaped island of Santorini is one of Greece’s most popular tourist destinations, drawing visitors from across the world for its whitewashed houses and blue-domed churches clinging to the cliff edge of the flooded caldera.

It was also the site of one of largest volcanic eruptions in human history, which took place in the Bronze Age around 1620 BC, destroying a large part of the island and giving Santorini its current shape. The eruption is believed to have contributed to the decline of the ancient Minoan civilization which had flourished in the region.

Although it is still an active volcano, the last notable eruption occurred in 1950.

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“What we must realize is that the Santorini volcano produces very large explosions every 20,000 years,” Efthymios Lekkas, seismologist and head of the scientific monitoring committee for the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, said on Greece’s ERT television Thursday.

“It’s been 3,000 years since the last explosion, so we have a very long time ahead of us before we face a big explosion.”

In the intervening time, Lekkas said, volcanic activity increases and decreases, and can cause small earthquakes. “The volcano is a living organism,” he said, adding that “we will not face a big explosion, but a mild procedure.”

Lekkas was among those who attended Wednesday's meeting called by Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias, along with the head of Greece's fire department, the deputy minister in charge of natural disaster recovery and several local and regional officials.

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