ND calls emergency meeting in wake of deadly wildfires

Greece’s conservative opposition party has called an emergency meeting in the aftermath of the devastating wildfires, east of Athens, which have so far claimed 80 lives.

The meeting will be held at 2.30 on Wednesday.

The purpose of the meeting – which will involve leading New Democracy officials as well as Costas Synolakis, a professor of natural hazards at the Technical University of Crete’s School of Environmental Engineering – is to review the present situation at the fire-hit settlements and analyze the reasons for the tragedy, the party said.

New Democracy is also expected to propose a package of disaster relief measures and assistance for residents impacted by the fires.

Officials said the party will also update its policies on natural disaster prevention, response and mitigation in the wake of the disaster.

In comments made Tuesday, conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that now was not the time to cast blame, stressing that the priorities were “unity and solidarity.”