NEWS · B2 Level - Part 4

Santorini Greets Visitors Again After Earthquake Chaos

The popular Greek island of Santorini experienced waves of earthquakes in January and February, causing tourists and many residents to evacuate.

Level: B2 · 25 sentences

Transcript

  1. The popular Greek island of Santorini experienced waves of earthquakes in January and February,
  2. causing tourists and many residents to evacuate.
  3. But just over a month later,
  4. the first cruise ship of the season arrived at the island.
  5. It's a sign of hope that tourism could bounce back after the earthquakes triggered a state of emergency that lasted until March 3rd.
  6. "It's exciting, yeah, to know that the island's open again and we get to visit first; it's safe."
  7. The picturesque island sits near the boundary of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates.
  8. Because of its proximity to the geographic fault lines,
  9. Santorini often experiences seismic activity.
  10. But the most recent wave of earthquakes was not typical.
  11. Data from the National Observatory of Athens indicated that over 1,200 earthquakes,
  12. ranging from 1 to 5.2 in magnitude,
  13. occurred over a 2-week period.
  14. Schools closed and construction work was halted.
  15. But now that the quakes have died down,
  16. tourists express excitement about returning to Santorini after the government's safety assurances.
  17. "We love being the first cruise ship that got the chance to come to Santorini; we feel really blessed,"
  18. "We trust the tourism board here, and so if they said it was safe to come..."
  19. "we came with open arms."
  20. The island, which attracts around 3.4 million visitors each year,
  21. is also home to around 200,000 residents.
  22. And tourism makes up a large majority of the island's income.
  23. "We all hope that things will return to normal, that people will come back,"
  24. "The clouds seem to be lifting, so things should improve for everyone,"
  25. "at least that's what we hope."