Government announces raft of state support measures for flood-stricken parts of Crete

A government task force visiting flood-stricken Crete on Sunday announced a package of support measures that will include the immediate disbursement of 400,000 euros to the municipality of Malevizi and immediate payment of compensation to those affected by the disaster from State Support funds.

Alternate Interior Minister Stelios Petsas expressed his condolences for the deaths of two people swept away by the flood water and pledged that the government will do everything possible to help survivors “get back to normality” after the damage caused by the flash floods.

“We will begin immediately with repairing the damage. This has already started to be recorded by teams from the region,” he said, adding that the infrastructure ministry will assist the region’s services for a faster recovery.

He said Malevizi will be given 400,000 euros to clean up and make the town and communities that have been affected functional once more after the disaster, while a record of the damage will be made so that advances can be given to the businesses that sustained flood damage.

Noting that “climate change is turning into a climate crisis,” Petsas said that the state will support citizens in dealing with natural disasters and that this required good planning and the cooperation of central and local government to bring about the best results.

Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Christos Triantopoulos, who is responsible for State Support and Recovery from Natural Disasters, promised that compensation will be given “swiftly and fairly”, and said that the work for this had already started, in collaboration with local authorities.

He explained that support for businesses would be given in a State Support framework, while households will get support to replace essential household effects from the interior ministry, with the Directorate for Recovery from Natural Disasters will record the damage to buildings and ELGA to crops and farms.

Also present was Deputy Sports Minister Lefteris Avgenakis, who said the priority must be to rapidly create a record of the damage, while the mayor of Malevizi highlighted the need to protect the area from flooding.

The statements were made after a meeting at the Malevizi municipality attended by the government task force and regional and municipal officials, as well as the head of the Seismic Planning and Protection Agency Prof. Efthymios Lekkas, an expert in managing natural disasters.