On Friday July 21st, two tourists were killed and nearly 500 others were injured during an earthquake that struck the Greek island of Kos, birthplace of Hippocrates, founding father of modern medicine. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake as being of magnitude 6.7, with Greek and Turkish estimates a fraction lower. A tremor measuring a preliminary 4.4 magnitude struck at 8:09 p.m. (1709 GMT) on Saturday, and sixteen minutes later, a second 4.6-magnitude tremor struck. According to estimations by the Ephorate of Antiquities, the island’s archaeological monuments will require 49.2 million euros to restore.


 Damages caused by the earthquake last July on the island of Kos amount to a total of 95 million euros, as estimated by the services of the Kos Municipality. The assessment concerns damages to public buildings, the island’s infrastructure and its archaeological sites, as announced by Mayor of Kos George Kyritsis, who has already informed Prime minister Alexis Tsipras, ministers and party heads of the opposition.

The redesigning and rebuilding of the port facilities (41 million euros) will follow, as shall the restoration of school buildings (2.2 million euros) and the water supply infrastructure (1.1 million euros). Smaller amounts are required for repairing damages to the County Hall, road networks, Public Power Cooperation, prisons, military base facilities et al.

The aim of the municipality is to activate the European Union Solidarity Fund to restore the damages, announced Mr Kyritsis. Among other things, the Mayor pointed out that:

"[A]fter recording and estimating the cost of the damages, both Greece and Kos can legitimately apply for the activation of the European Union Solidarity Fund. Alternatively, resources from the European Regional Development Fund can be used to rebuild port infrastructure and repair damages in the public space and the island’s infrastructure, but also repair damages to small and medium-sized businesses.”