2023-09-27 18:39:05
ATHENS (AP) — Torrential rains that hit central Greece on Wednesday damaged roads, flooded homes and caused power outages on the island of Euboea, as the government declared that adaptation to climate change has become a national priority.
Army and municipal teams cleared debris from roads near the flood-affected towns of Limni and Mantoudi in the north of the island. The Fire Service reported that it had received dozens of calls for help from flooded homes.
Authorities remain on alert in central Greece and nearby islands, where a strong storm caused severe damage earlier this month and left 16 dead. The government said the initial damage estimate was more than 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion), and that infrastructure repair alone would cost almost 700 million euros ($735 million).
The European Union has promised to support Greece with emergency funds, and the country is renegotiating the details of existing aid packages to allocate more funds to address damage caused by wildfires and floods.
“I will repeat the obvious: the frequency of extreme weather events due to the climate crisis is something that requires us to integrate civil protection (into our response),” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. “Adaptation to the climate crisis is a fundamental priority in our policy.”
The weather is expected to improve on Friday.
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