The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has amended its travel guidance for anyone visiting Greece from the UK. Among many other roles, the FCDO is responsible for keeping Brits up to date regarding travel to some 226 countries and nations.
Earlier this week, the Foreign Office issued a warning to anyone planning to visit certain popular holiday hotspots in Greece. The alert came after hundreds of tremors, including an earthquake registering 3.9 on the Richter scale over the areas around Santorini and Amorgos.
The latest Gov.UK update, issued on Friday, February 7, reads: “The area around the Cycladic islands of Santorini (Thira), Anafi, Ios and Amorgos, is currently experiencing frequent earthquakes which may continue for several weeks. The Greek authorities advised people in those areas not to attend large indoors gatherings, to avoid old or abandoned buildings and the ports of Amoudi, Armeni, Korfos and Old Port (Paleos Limenas) in the area of Fira and to choose safe routes when travelling, particularly in areas where the landslide risk is high. In case of a strong tremor, people should immediately depart coastal areas.
“On 6 February the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection declared a State of Emergency on Santorini until 3 March, to allow its emergency services to facilitate access to and mobilisation of resources to prepare. If you are in the affected areas, you should keep up to date with and follow the advice of local authorities and emergency services.
“or further guidance on how to prepare for earthquakes, please visit the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection (in English) and to see, for anywhere in Greece, where your nearest assembly points are located in case of emergency you can visit mysafetyplan.gov.gr (map with text in Greek).”