Fires which have burned for 10 days in southern Peloponnese region of Greece are finally under control. The final statistics claim 65 lives have been lost, destroyed at least 4,000 homes and 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) of mainly forest and farmland. The provisional Greek government estimates the damage to the economy is 1.7 to 4 billion Euros.
Now, on Sunday 2 September, rainstorms flooded parts of Northern Greece after months of heat waves and no rain.
|
|
|
Nasa Satellite Image Greek
Forest Fires August 2007
|
The fires have affected the area around the world heritage site of Ancient Olympia, the ancient town of Megalopolis and Karytaina in the central region of Arcadia and nearby Messenia, the island of Eubee, Ionnina and Kilkis and a more recent fire was in the northern prefecture of Imathia.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis blamed arsonists for the fires. His government has doled out at least 107 million euros (US$146.2 million) in compensation
The European Commission said it could provide up to 200 million euros from a 'solidarity fund'.
Greek prosecutor, Dimitris Papangelopoulos, ordered an investigation into whether the arson attacks could be considered terrorism. This would provide authorities broader powers of investigation and arrest
The Greek Football Federation called off this week's Greek Cup first-round ties and the start of the Super League was also postponed.
The country goes to elections on September 16.
While Greek banks make up 8 of the 20 stocks on the blue chip index, the impact as a result of insurance claims is not considered to be significant. This is because Greek banks insurance business is relatively small and most of their clients are in Athens as opposed to where the fires are. So minimal impact to EFG Eurobank, Bank of Piraeus and Alpha Bank is expected.
Author
Y Dritsas
Insurance Policy
Country: - Greece
Policy Description: - Mainly household, car, life insurances
Insurer: -
External Links
