A state of emergency was declared on Santorini and the nearby island of Amorgos on the 6th of February, after 6,400 earthquakes caused residents to flee.

Back then, flights and ferries were cancelled and tourists had to stay away from Santorini, the jewel in Greece’s tourism crown. But at least the islanders remained. Now, after three weeks of the outcrop in the Aegean being rattled by more than 20,000 earthquakes, even islanders have packed up and left.

Israeli geo-archeologist had studied ancient seismic activity of Santorini for decades, then happened to be on the island as the ground began shaking.

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Greece will soon set up an evacuation port on the island of Santorini to facilitate the safe escape of people in case a bigger quake hits the popular tourist destination, a Greek minister said on Monday.

The swarm near Santorini appears to be related to the activation of a system of normal faults, fractures in the Earth’s crust where there is movement. Earthquakes are the result of a sudden release of tension built up by the movement along these faults.