“The island is back to normal without panic, and if one arrived now without knowing what had happened, he would not have realized that a natural disaster occurred,” said Deputy Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake on Kos on Friday.
In a joint press conference on Kos, Toskas, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis, Deputy Shipping Minister Nektarios Santorinios and Government Spokesperson Dimitris Tzanakopoulos sent their condolences to the families of the victims. They also said that, luckily, the damages and casualties are disproportionately small to the magnitude of the earthquake.
Tzanakopoulos said that the island infrastructures are in good condition except for the port, adding that experts will work on the immediate restoration of the port.
“There are no great damages on the island. The buildings are in very good condition. We have no damages to the infrastructure,” Spirtzis said. “By the time we arrived, we checked the airport control tower that has opened and is in operation…The only problem is in the port.”
The deputy citizen protection minister said that after the first rescue and restoration operations, things are going back to normal. “The tourist arrivals at the airport did not stop… Tourists take bicycle rides along the coast without any problems. At the same time, we continue the checks in a normal environment.” he said.
The deputy minister of shipping said that coordinated efforts are being made so that arrivals and departures can take place through other ports of the island.
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