Greece’s chief seismologist says that while earthquake frequency around Santorini has slightly decreased, the situation remains unpredictable for the coming weeks.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s government declared a state of emergency on Santorini on Thursday after hundreds of undersea earthquakes shook the resort island for nearly a week.

The Greek island of Santorini normally conjures up images of beautiful white buildings and dreamy blue seas, but since January this year, its home in the Aegean Sea has been hit by a near-constant string of seismic activity – so what’s going on?

Scientists have detected several thousand earthquakes, the vast majority of them with small magnitudes, in just over two weeks near Greece’s volcanic island of Santorini.