MATI

New Citizens' Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis pledged to work hard to restore a sense of security for the public, noting that disasters like the deadly blaze in eastern Attica last year should never happen again.

The failure of the state apparatus to prevent the massive loss of life and the destruction of homes in the July 2018 wildfires in the east Attica towns of Neos Voutzas, Mati and Kokkino Limanaki have raised concerns about the country's ability to deal with potentially major wildfires this summer.

Crews from Greece's electricity distribution agency DEDDIE were called in to restore power to the area around Athens's Syntagma Square on Monday afternoon after a medium-voltage power line stopped working due to bad weather, the state-run Athens-Macedonian News Agency reported.

The wounds from last summer's deadly wildfires in eastern Attica are still very fresh. We can still hear the echoes of ministers' promises to bring out the demolition crews to tear down illegal structures on the country's coasts like those that contributed to the loss of life in the seaside town of Mati.

The families of three more victims of last summer's devastating wildfires east of Athens have filed lawsuits against the Greek state, the Attica Regional Authority and the Marathon Municipality.

A few days after an independent committee of experts issued a damning report on the state's response to wildfires over the years, Parliament Speaker Nikos Voutsis suggested that last summer's disastrous fires in eastern Attica should be the focus of a parliamentary investigation. 

The three foreign fishermen lauded for their heroic efforts to save dozens of people during the deadly wildfire in east Attica last summer were officially sworn in as Greek citizens in a ceremony at the interior ministry on Thursday.

Three migrant fishermen who helped rescue dozens of people from the sea during the deadly wildfire near Athens last summer are to be made Greek citizens.

The three migrants, two Egyptians and one Albanian, will be granted citizenship during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday in recognition of their actions.

All construction is being suspended along key roads in the eastern Attica towns of Rafina and Mati that were affected by last summer's deadly fires, the Environment Ministry has decided.

Attica Regional Governor Rena Dourou has submitted a written statement to prosecutors investigating this summer's deadly east Attica wildfires, in which she claims no responsibility for the magnitude of the destruction and the massive loss of life.