Most earthquake-hit homes on Crete can’t live again | Greece Archives General News

Engineers inspecting homes destroyed by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in Crete said 75 per cent of them could not be lived in again and that there had been extensive damage to businesses, churches, public buildings and schools.

Approximately 1,199 buildings were inspected in the municipalities of Minoan Pediada, Archans Astrausia, Iraklio, Malevizi and Orobdio Lasicio, including

Kathimerini said that of the 995 homes examined, 772 were declared uninhabitable, the same percentage for workplaces and churches as well as 71 of the 74 warehouses surveyed and found to be unsafe.

They also conducted inspections of 18 schools, six of which were declared unusable due to significant damage from the earthquake, which killed one person and injured 20.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis – and his family from Crete – went there to see the damage for himself and promised relief in a package of up to 30 million euros ($34.79 million) to rebuild what can be done safely.

It was a similar plan to the one used after the 2020 floods in Karditsa and forest fires that ravaged the island of Evia, Greece’s second largest island, this summer that also wiped out businesses ranging from honey to other goods.

There were a number of aftershocks that shook more buildings and people, many of whom had to sleep outdoors for a few nights, afraid to go indoors again.

The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the aftershocks were centered 22 kilometers (13.67 miles) southeast of Heraklion, the main city of Crete and the fourth largest in Greece.

The first earthquake on September 27 sent people into the streets, damaged homes and caused rockslides. Local media said the dead man was a 65-year-old construction worker who was working inside the church when the roof collapsed over it.

Greece’s Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection said it was “most likely the main earthquake” and noted that such events were followed by “intense seismic activity” in the form of aftershocks that came quickly.

Greece is located in an area of ​​high seismic activity and experiences hundreds of earthquakes every year. The vast majority are small and do not cause any damage or injury.

Repeated aftershocks – which witnesses described as resembling small eruptions – shook the area, adding to the damage to villages near the epicenter.

“The earthquake was strong and it was long,” Vassilis Lambrinos, mayor of Heraklion, told private Antena TV.

International and domestic flights to Heraklion Airport were not affected by the quake, while the region’s hoteliers’ association said no major damage was caused to any hotels in the area, which includes many popular holiday resorts.

Municipal construction vehicles helped clear a driveway for emergency services, cleared rubble and demolished the balcony of a severely damaged apartment building.

“This is not an event that occurred without warning. We have seen activity in this area for several months. This was a strong earthquake, it was not under the sea but underground and affecting populated areas,” seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos told state radio ERT.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center and the US Geological Survey estimated the initial strength of 6.0, with the center located seven kilometers (four miles) north of the village of Thrapsano. It is common for different seismological institutes to present varying degrees of earthquake.

Before the damages could be settled and identified, seismologist Efthimios Likas, who heads the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization in Greece, said inspections of important buildings such as schools and hospitals were critical.

“We urge people who live in old damaged buildings to stay outdoors. An aftershock can cause collapse,” said Likas from Crete. “We are talking about structures that were built before 1970. They were built after 1985 to a higher standard that can withstand the impact of the earthquake.”

Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides, who traveled to Crete, declared a state of emergency. Local media said hundreds of homes were damaged, including more than half of the homes in Arkaluchuri.

Civil protection officials have set up tents for residents whose homes were damaged, with a capacity of up to 2,500 people.

(Material from The Associated Press was used in this report)

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