Shortages, price rises projected

The waters were still stagnant in the Keramidi area of Trikala in central Greece at the weekend. Experts cannot estimate when the Thessaly Plain will be productive again. In some places, they say, the removal of sediment may no longer be cost-effective. Of the 72,000 hectares that were flooded, the majority is agricultural land. More than 85,000 animals (cattle, sheep, goats and pigs) have drowned and their shelter has been destroyed. The knock-on effects of these problems in Greece’s most productive region will spread and affect the whole country, with rising prices and shortages of basic products. [Argyris Makris/Intime News]