PM tours flood-hit Karditsa, vows swift relief

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis vowed on Tuesday to earmark sufficient compensation for municipal authorities, farmers, business owners and households that suffered extensive damages from the passage of the cyclone Ianos through central Greece over the weekend, promising that the money would be disbursed quickly to help the local economy get back on track.

Meeting with local authority officials and representatives of local businesses in the flood-hit city of Karditsa after inspecting the flood damage in the broader area of the Thessalian Plane by helicopter, Mitsotakis called for the acceleration of efforts by the farmers’ association ELGA to record damage to crops, livestock and machinery so that an assessment can be made of the level of compensation that will be required.

He also called on regional and local authorities to do their part for the recovery and compensation effort.

“There is no shortage of open fronts facing us right now: the coronavirus, the migration crisis, open national issues, the economic impact of the pandemic. And now this natural disaster. We will deal with it,” Mitsotakis said.

“People are justifiably sad and angry; I understand completely. We had to face a rare weather phenomenon. Unfortunately, such rare weather phenomena will become more frequent with climate change,” the prime minister added.

Following the meeting, Mitsotakis also walked around the center of Karditsa, talking to shopkeepers and residents. 

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos, who accompanied Mitsotakis on the visit, said in a post of Twitter that 18.5 million euros has already been disbursed to municipal authorities in the region.