The debate over construction has begun in Santorini, where 12,000 earthquakes have been experienced in just 12 days. While the impact of a major earthquake on the island is being discussed, attention has turned to buildings constructed in violation of construction laws. The Greek press reported that some businessmen have built “devilish tunnels”, creating passages to public lands and forming rooms in this manner. It is noted that such tunnels increase the risk of landslides on the island’s slopes.

The earthquake-stricken Santorini has sparked a construction debate. According to the news in To Vima, the island is filled with buildings that pose risks due to “excessive construction, cave-like palaces on barren lands, and underground tunnels opening to rooms facing the sea”.

The news mentioned an individual who, by digging underground tunnels, connected a relatively cheaper piece of land on the island to a more valuable slope. The article stated, “HE DUG TUNNELS AND BUILT ROOMS”

“A plot facing Nio on the road to Oia was purchased at a more affordable rate than the one facing Caldera, in order to build a hotel. Firstly, in this area, tourist accommodation facilities have been prohibited by a 1990 Presidential Decree, and their use is discretionary. Most importantly, to have this view, underground tunnels were dug and rooms were built on top of Caldera, i.e., on public land. The same situation applies to another hotelier on the main road between Pyrgos and Fira. His plot was not on the Caldera side, but across the road. ‘He dug a tunnel and found a view.'”

This information was shared with a newspaper by someone named Elsa Vagianou, who has provided consultancy on urban planning and construction issues to the Ministry of the Aegean and Environment for years and currently resides in Santorini for most of the year.

According to the information provided by the newspaper, construction is prohibited for Caldera. The Ministry of Environment and Energy, back in mid-November, had suspended building permits for the area until the end of 2025 with a special regulation, and had made it mandatory for static adequacy studies to be prepared within two years for touristic establishments, restaurants, cafes, etc.