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Quake Surge Prompts State of Emergency on Greek Island of Santorini

People cross a police cordon as they evacuate their home in the village of Oia on Santorini island, Greece, 05 February 2025. EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU
People cross a police cordon as they evacuate their home in the village of Oia on Santorini island, Greece, 05 February 2025. EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU
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Quake Surge Prompts State of Emergency on Greek Island of Santorini

People cross a police cordon as they evacuate their home in the village of Oia on Santorini island, Greece, 05 February 2025. EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU
People cross a police cordon as they evacuate their home in the village of Oia on Santorini island, Greece, 05 February 2025. EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU

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 ministry of civil protection’s announcement will provide authorities faster access to state resources. It follows a magnitude 5.2 tremor –- the most powerful recorded since activity started on Jan. 31 –- that struck late Wednesday.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis confirmed that multiple emergency services were already mobilized to support the island, The Associated Press reported.
“Fire departments, police, coast guard, armed forces, and emergency medical services have immediately reinforced Santorini and surrounding islands with additional personnel and specialized equipment,” he told reporters.
Despite causing minimal damage, the earthquake swarm has prompted an exodus of thousands of residents and seasonal workers, mostly evacuating to the Greek mainland by ferry.
Experts say the seismic activity is unrelated to volcanic activity in the Aegean Sea.

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India’s Monsoon Back on Track, Heatwave to Ease, Says Weather Officials 

School children use umbrellas to cover themselves from the rain as they walk to school, in New Delhi, India May 2, 2025. (Reuters)
School children use umbrellas to cover themselves from the rain as they walk to school, in New Delhi, India May 2, 2025. (Reuters)
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India’s Monsoon Back on Track, Heatwave to Ease, Says Weather Officials 

School children use umbrellas to cover themselves from the rain as they walk to school, in New Delhi, India May 2, 2025. (Reuters)
School children use umbrellas to cover themselves from the rain as they walk to school, in New Delhi, India May 2, 2025. (Reuters)

India's monsoon has revived after stalling for more than a fortnight, and rains are set to cover central parts of the country this week, bringing relief from the heatwave in the grain-growing northern plains, two senior weather officials said on Monday.

The monsoon, the lifeblood of the country's nearly $4 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70% of the rain that India needs to water farms and replenish aquifers and reservoirs.

Nearly half of India's farmland, which has no irrigation, depends on the annual June-September rains for crop growth.

The monsoon has revived after a fortnight as a favorable weather system has developed in the Bay of Bengal, which would help the monsoon to cover entire central India this week, an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) told Reuters.

Monsoon rains on Monday covered almost the entire western state of Maharashtra and entered into neighboring Gujarat and central state of Madhya Pradesh, the official said.

The Monsoon's onset over Kerala occurred on May 24 and quickly covered southern, northeastern and some parts of western India ahead of its usual schedule, but its progress has stalled since May 29, according to an IMD chart that tracked the monsoon's progress.

The monsoon has gained the required momentum, and heavy rainfall is likely over west coast, central and some parts of north India in next ten days, which will significantly bring down temperatures, another weather official said.

India has received 31% lower rainfall than average in the first half of June, but in the second half the country is set to receive above average rainfall, the official said.

Monsoon rains are set to progress quickly in the next few days and could cover most parts of the country before the end of June, the official said.

Summer rains usually fall in Kerala around June 1 before spreading nationwide by mid-July, allowing farmers to plant crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane.