Thousands of locals and travelers have evacuated the Greek island of Santorini amidst a spike in seismic activity.

Athens, Greece - Recent Thousands of people have fled the Greek island of Santorini by sea and air, after hundreds of earthquakes shook the volcanic island since Jan 28. Home to around 20,000 permanent residents,

Repeated earthquakes are rattling Greece’s volcanic island of Santorini. Scientists say the quakes aren't related to a slight increase in volcanic activity that has also been registered recently.

According to officials, more than 11,000 people have left Santorini, with around 7,000 departing by ferry and 4,000 people leaving by air. Hundreds of earthquakes have rocked the island, the strongest of which was a magnitude five tremor on Tuesday.

A tremor with a magnitude of 4.8 was recorded early Tuesday, just shy of a 4.9 quake recorded over the weekend – the strongest so far.

Earthquakes are still rattling Greece’s volcanic island of Santorini every few minutes as authorities bolster their emergency plans in case the hundreds of temblors in recent days are a harbinger of a larger quake to come.

NBC News’ Matt Bradley reports on the aftermath and public response to several days of near constant earthquakes around the tourist hotspot of Santorini, Greece.

The Greek island has a long history of earthquakes, but what is causing the recent series of quakes has scientists perplexed.

Earthquakes wreaking havoc on Santorini could last for months, seismologists have warned, as fears mount for tourist season on the Greek island.