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, the University of Athens' crisis management committee said Tuesday,

It welcomes around 3 million visitors per year, but between January 26 and February 8, the Seismology Laboratory of the University of Athens has registered a staggering 12,800 earthquakes in the Santorini-Amorgos zone, the strongest of these was last night at a magnitude of 5.3.

Santorini - one of Greece's most visited islands - relies heavily on seasonal workers from other parts of Greece and abroad, who help the permanent population of just over 15,000 to serve tens of thousands of tourists on the island each day in peak season.

Experts say the Greek island of Santorini has been hit by more than 1,000 earthquakes, but they're not linked to the region's active volcanoes.

The Greek island of Santorini was struck by the latest in a string of earthquakes Tuesday, this time a 4.8 temblor. The government said it will backstop the island destination's tourist industry.

Seismologists have noted that the epicentre of the earthquakes is steadily drifting northward in the direction of Amorgos.