5,000 Homeless After Cephalonia Earthquake

Another powerful aftershock rocked the island of Cephalonia in Greece last night, terrifying the thousands of residents who had to spend the night in tents, boats, buses and even cars. Lixouri looks like a bombed area with the number of homeless reaching 5,000, according to rough estimates. Secretary of Public Works, Stratos Simopoulos said that until Tuesday night they were able to check 250 houses in the area of Lixouri and came to the conclusion that 55% of the buildings need repairs. Serious damages have also been ascertained in four schools and it appears that classes will be held in prefabricated buildings. According to Greek news, Simopoulos said that their first goal is to make the island functional once again, before the tourist season. In order to achieve this goal, authorities must first restore the islands ports and  road network. Greek government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou, said Cephalonia meets all the criteria required for Greece to request assistance from the European Solidarity Fund in order to finance the reconstruction of houses and infrastructure of the island.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com