More than 6,000 evacuated off Santorini after series of earthquakes hit Greek island

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Thousands of people evacuated Santorini after a series of earthquakes in recent days hit the picturesque Greek island with fears of additional tremors.

On Monday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that Greece was working to manage "a very intense geological phenomenon."

More than 6,000 civilians have fled the island for safety since Sunday, according to Greek public broadcaster ERT. But no fatalities, injuries or major damage has been reported as residents take precautionary steps.

On Tuesday, hundreds of people were seen carrying personal belongings waiting at an island port to be taken to the Greek capital of Athens following a magnitude 4.8 tremor.

Aegean Airlines said about 15 flights were scheduled from Santorini to Athens that by Tuesday will have flown more than 2,600 passengers.

A 7.5 magnitude quake in 1965 killed at least 53 and injured more than 100 other people during Santorini's most recent large earthquake.

The quakes were reported to be originating northeast of Santorini around the smaller island of Anydros.

Over the weekend, a 4.9 magnitude was recorded which was the strongest so far, and roughly 550 tremors with a magnitude 3.0 were likewise recorded in the Aegean Sea between Santorini, Amorous and Los over the last three days.

The island attracts more than three million yearly visitors and is home to a little more than 15,000 permanent residents, many of whom opted to temporarily evacuate to the mainland for safety.

Meanwhile, schools will stay closed until Friday with intensive seismic activity expected to continue for days to weeks, and plans in place to build shelters and and provide food assistance.

Island residents were advised to approach the situation "with patience and calm" as tremors "may last many weeks," Santorini Mayor Nikos Zorzos said Tuesday.