August 31, 2007	Friday	Sha’aban 17, 1428

ATHENS: Greece is set to pay an enormous cost after a week of unstoppable inferno, with fires still burning out of control.

The area affected by the disaster runs from the prefecture of Evia 90 km north of the capital to the outskirts of Athens, and throughout south-western and central Peloponnesus, the southern peninsula of continental Greece.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), 184,000 hectares of forest and agricultural fields were charred in just the first three days of the fires that started on Aug 24.

Despite incredible efforts from people in the field, the overstretched state mechanism has failed to protect civilians. Television channels have been broadcasting live appeals for help from people in remote mountainous areas. The number of confirmed deaths has reached 64, but this number is expected to rise when fire-fighters reach isolated mountainous villages.

The provinces of Messinia, Laconia, Arcadia and Ileia, covering an area of 13,864 square km and inhabited by 580,500 people, have suffered most. In just the municipality of Zaharo, located in the south-western part of Ileia, 335 km from Athens, 16 of the 18 villages have been wiped off the map.

Sixty-nine communities were evacuated in Peloponnesus. The fire also reached the site of ancient Olympia outside of Ileia’s capital Pirgos, and caused considerable damage.

The first estimations of damage are dire. Damage to cattle and agricultural capital amount to $2 billion, but total costs are expected to rise above $5.4 billion.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) advance is expected to slow down by 0.2 to 0.5 per cent for the next two to four years. The first emergency assistance measures cost will rise above three $410 million.

But it is widely accepted that quantification of losses cannot describe the extent of the catastrophe. “Nobody will be able to calculate indirect losses from this disaster,” Maria Roysomoystakaki, president of the Committee for the Protection of Environment, and lecturer in ecology at the University of Athens told the news agency.

“So many lives will be lost in ten and 20 years because of environmental devaluation. The quality of the oxygen we inhale will fall sharply. The fertility of land will suffer immensely, the inability of burned earth to maintain humidity and withhold rain waters will lead to soil loss and erosion in these regions.”

On top of the environmental disaster, the country will face the consequences of collapsing social structures. With thousands of homeless people depending on the state for food and temporary shelter, desperation could rise sharply in the next few months. “We will experience a considerable population movement towards the already overburdened, big urban centres,” Maratou Lora, research director at the National Centre for Social Research said.—Dawn/The IPS News Service