Advertisement
As many as 170 wildfires were burning throughout Greece in late August,including those close to Athens and across the Peloponnese region. Althoughnearly all of the blazes were under control by August 29, to date, more than60 people have lost their lives, according to the International Federation ofRed Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The fires are also responsible for thedestruction of a large number of homes, damage to communications, electric,and water infrastructure, and the burning of hundreds of thousands of squarekilometers of forests and olive groves.
Advertisement
The $1.2 million contribution will support the purchase of personalprotective equipment for firefighters, fund technical assistance teams fromthe U.S. Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service, and representativesfrom USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. These experts willwork with officials in Greece to address fire management, emergency managementsystems, fire investigation, burned area emergency rehabilitation, andecosystem and watershed restoration.
For more information about USAID's emergency humanitarian assistanceprograms, please visit:www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/.
SOURCE U.S. Agency for International Development
