The Ministers of Tourism Kefalogianni, Education Arvanitopoulos, Health Georgiadis and Infrastructure Chysochoidis visited the earthquake-stricken Kefalonia on Tuesday morning and participated in a meeting to address the problems caused by the earthquake. The Minister Interior Yannis Michelakis is also likely to return to the island on Wednesday.
After the Ministerial meeting on the island, the Minister of Infrastructure Michalis Chrysochoidis announced a number of measures to help the residents of Kefalonia recover from the earthquake:
- Payment of rent for two years for all residents who certifiably face a housing problem
- Restoring damages, where possible, via a funding program
- Creation of a settlement with all necessary amenities for residents unable to rent.
The latest powerful earthquake has caused huge damages to the island’s infrastructure. The island’s airport control tower suffered extensive damage on the initial earthquake that shook the island on the 26th of January. The airport has barely been able operate, with employees performing their duties from their cars, since it is not entirely safe for them to enter the main terminal.
Based on the latest inspections, about 600 buildings have been condemned, 1,100 buildings were found to have suffered extensive damage and about 1,400 buildings have sustained minor damages, which will be confirmed during the second round of inspections.
Meanwhile the Deputy Ministers of the Environment Stavros Kalafatis and Makis Papageorgiou announced that they came to an agreement with EKO to ensure that fuel is available in order to complete inspections of the remaining buildings on the island. The fuel company will supply the teams of inspectors and mechanics with free fuel in order to complete inspections.
The Ministry of Administrative Reform also announced that it has ended the suspension of 152 civil servants who are reinstated in the public sector.
