The hundreds of earthquakes that have rattled Greek islands on the Aegean Sea are a “seismic swarm" and could continue for weeks before eventually diminishing, the Santorini mayor told The Associated Press on Tuesday — pausing to chuckle as new tremors shook items on his desk.

The iconic Greek holiday island is literally shaking, and residents are escaping while they can.

Greece sits on multiple fault lines and is often rattled by earthquakes. Santorini is visited by about three million people annually, including many British tourists. One of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, around 1600 BC, formed the island in its current shape, while the last eruption in the area occurred in 1950.