The top tourist island of Santorini has been struck by its strongest earthquake in weeks amid a wave of increased seismic activity in the region.

The threat of a more major earthquake seems to have subsided on the most visited of the Greek islands but experts disagree on the origin of the tremors that have caused 11,000 of the 15,000 permanent residents to flee.

An earthquake of 5.3 magnitude hit the Greek island of Santorini late Monday, officials said, the strongest yet of the thousands of tremors that have shaken the area, prompting thousands to leave.

Residents on the popular island of Santorini have experienced thousands of earthquakes this month while researchers have revealed a new magma chamber growing underneath the Kolumbo submarine volcano.

Greece’s government declared a state of emergency on Santorini on Thursday after hundreds of undersea earthquakes shook the resort island for nearly a week. The ministry of civil protection’s announcement will provide authorities faster access to state resources.

Concern is growing over a series of repeated tremors that have been taking place near the volcanic Greek island of Santorini. Other nearby islands in the Aegean Sea have also been affected during the last few weeks but as the earthquakes have become stronger and more perceptible, it is Santorini that has become the focus of attention.

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.

Earthquakes are still rattling Greece’s volcanic island of Santorini every few minutes as authorities bolster their emergency plans in case the hundreds of temblors in recent days are a harbinger of a larger quake to come.

A series of earthquakes near Santorini, Greece has prompted tourists to flee the area and the country to declare a state of emergency.