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Forest fires in Greece gradually coming under control

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The situation in Greece, which has been devastated by forest fires and left 63 dead, is steadily improving with only 23 fires still burning in two regions, a Greek fire service source said Wednesday.
ATHENS, August 29 (RIA Novosti) - The situation in Greece, which has been devastated by forest fires and left 63 dead, is steadily improving with only 23 fires still burning in two regions, a Greek fire service source said Wednesday.

In the first three days of the disaster 269,000 hectares of land, including 184,000 of forest, were ravaged by wildfires, with at least 500 houses in dozens of villages being destroyed.

Currently the worst affected regions are the second largest island of Euboea (Evia) and Eleia prefecture in the southern Peloponnese.

The government has declared a number of measures to provide assistance to victims, including 3,000 euros compensation to each person affected. People who lost their homes will get 10,000 euros and will receive housing allowances for the next two years. A set of measures to help farmers is underway.

The fires have aggravated the political situation just prior to early parliamentary elections September 16, with the government and the ruling party coming under fierce criticism for their poor handling of the disaster.

Public indignation increased after high ranking officials implied that the fires were started deliberately, in an attempt to destabilize the political situation in the country before the elections.

Recent polls showed the ratings of the country's two leading parties had declined approximately 2%, but there is no indication of how the disaster will affect the elections results.

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