Greece seeks EU help to recover from forest fires

By Karolos Grohmann

KATO SAMIKO, Greece (Reuters) - Greece turned to the European Union on Friday for help rebuilding communities destroyed by forest fires that have burned for over a week, killing at least 63 people and leaving thousands homeless.

The government has already paid out 72 million euros (48.8 million pounds) to more than 20,000 victims whose properties were destroyed in nationwide fires which by Friday had been contained to just three significant blazes, according to the fire brigade.

Just two weeks ahead of a parliamentary election, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has come under severe criticism for his government's handling of Greece's worst fires in memory and their aftermath.

Athens hopes to tap EU emergency relief aid to overcome the unprecedented national disaster, which it estimates will cost the economy more than 1.2 billion euros.

The official in charge of a 1 billion-euro Solidarity Fund, Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Huebner, flew by helicopter to view the scorched valleys of the Peloponnese peninsula before meeting Karamanlis in Athens.

"The dramatic situation in Greece touches not only the Greek people but all of us," Huebner said, promising EU help.

Five years ago the European Union provided 728 million euros to Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and France to counter damage from summer floods.

RAIN FORECAST