SANTORINI, Greece — Earthquakes rattled Greece’s volcanic island of Santorini every few minutes through the night and into Wednesday as authorities bolstered their emergency plans in case the temblors are a harbinger of a larger quake to come .

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.

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.

Greece’s volcanic tourist island rattled by earthquakes every few minutes - Thousands of residents and visitors have already left Santorini

Thousands of people evacuated Santorini after a series of earthquakes in recent days hit the picturesque Greek island with fears of additional tremors.

A 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck near Santorini, Greece, the latest in a series of temblors near the popular tourist destination.

The strongest earthquake recorded was magnitude 4.6 at 3:55 p.m. Sunday, at a depth of 14 kilometers (9 miles), the Athens Geodynamic Institute said.

Hundreds more people were expected to leave Greece's Santorini island on Wednesday as tremors shook the popular summer tourist destination for a sixth day. About 6,000 people have left on ferries and planes in recent days as hundreds of small quakes were registered in the surounding sea,

Hundreds of earthquakes that have rattled the Greek islands since last week have prompted the evacuation of thousands from the tourist hotspot of Santorini.