It was the powerful Thera eruption 3,600 years ago that put an end to the Minoan civilisation at Akrotiri in Santorini, as well as obliterated the civilisation in Crete at the height of the Minoan culture. Due to the eruption, a gigantic tsunami was created, a tsunami that was so potent that it wiped out the people as far away as in Crete, including those who tried to escape from Santorini to Crete.