The strongest earthquake yet after days of near-constant tremors has been recorded near the island of Santorini, the famous Greek tourist haven now almost emptied of visitors and residents.

More than 11,000 people have already left Santorini with around 7,000 departing by ferry and 4,000 people leaving by air. The quake followed two smaller tremors minutes earlier, and was recorded at 21:09 local time (19:09 GMT) as a magnitude 5.

More than 11,000 people have already left the island of Santorini following a series of tremors in recent days.

A 5.2 magnitude tremor has been detected between the Greek islands of Santorini and Amorgos — the most powerful recorded since activity started on on January 31.