Zakynthos Informer Zakynthos Informer
Related Articles
Today marks two years since the strong earthquake of October 26, 2018 and if there is one thing that should be pointed out on the occasion of this anniversary, it is that repairing the damage caused to public infrastructure and private property, proves to be extremely time consuming.
Another essential issue that should be raised in the public debate, is the extent to which today the Local Government and each resident of the island, have taken all the necessary measures to prevent, plan and protect the possibility of a new major earthquake to cause less possible consequences.
Public infrastructure
Assessing the progress of the works for the restoration of the damages caused by the 2018 earthquake in public infrastructures, we certainly cannot be satisfied with the speeds with which the state mechanism moved. It took more than a year and a half to start work on repairing the damage to the port with a budget of 2.9 million euros, but the important thing is that the contractor is already moving fast, currently completing the restoration of the trapezoidal pier.
Two whole years have passed for the beginning of the effort for the restoration of the Monuments in Strofadia and after many months of delays the project is auctioned by the Ministry of Culture on November 20 with a budget of 11,000,000 euros.
It should be noted that the Earthquake Impact Response Plan submitted by the Ionian Islands Region, also provided for the study of landslide protection at the site “Red Rock”, in Akrotiri, Zakynthos with a budget of € 175,381.52 and in fact is expected to be completed soon, the study for the restoration of the building of the Old Hospital of Zakynthos, which will soon contract the restoration works of the building of the Governor’s Office of P.E. Zakynthos, which are currently in progress and the construction of the port in Strofadia, for which the contractor is also expected.
The financing of the landslide protection projects at the “Red Rock” site is pending, which will have to proceed after the completion of the study and of course the restoration of the old Hospital, which is expected to reach a very large budget.
Damage to homes and businesses
A large part of the impact of the earthquake concerns damage to homes and businesses, with the latter in many cases not being able to receive any compensation for damage to equipment and means of production as there are a number of serious conditions such as the existence of tariffs, the non-expiration of the time for depreciation etc.
Regarding the damage to the houses, it is worth noting that after the last extension given by the DAEFK, the owners of buildings that were affected by the earthquake of October 26, 2018 and did not manage to apply for housing assistance to repair the damage. , can do so until the new application deadline, ie until 11-08-2021.
Finally, regarding the issue that had arisen with the granting of the lump sum allowance of 5,000 euros, the competent Minister of Infrastructure and Transport denied the existence of outstanding issues and announced that all the beneficiaries have been paid. More specifically, answering the Plenary Session in the middle of last July, to a question submitted by the MP of MERA25 Sofia Sakorafa, he stated that a total of 292,500 euros have been paid to 76 beneficiaries.
According to the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Mr. Karamanlis, based on the data provided by the services of the Ministry and specifically the Directorate of Natural Disasters, there is no payment of aid from the Ministry to the Beneficiaries.
For the full report in Greek click on source link https://zantetimes.gr
