A building whose partial collapse resulted in the deaths of two teenagers during the 7 magnitude earthquake that rocked the eastern Aegean island of Samos on October 30, was demolished on Friday by municipal bulldozers.
High school sweethearts, 17-year-old Aris and 15-year-old Claire, were killed while on their way home from school.
It was the first building to be demolished on the island in an effort to restore the damage.
The earthquake left some 300 buildings temporarily uninhabitable or unsafe and also caused a tsunami that flooded the harbour area.
Immediately after the disaster, there was a wave of solidarity and support from people, neighbouring countries and international organisations.
Earlier on Friday morning, the island was jolted by another tremor measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale.
Greece is one of the world's most seismically active countries, which means earthquakes are a common occurrence.
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Endless nightmare for Samos: “There are still homeless people from the earthquake, some live in tents”
Around 450 people remain homeless, points out George Kyriazis, president of the Samos Chamber.
“Some are still living in tents,” he said.
“Around 260 people stay in hotels, while others have settled with relatives and friends,” the mayor of Eastern Samos, George Stantzos, told Sputnik Hellas.
At the same time, more than 1,300 homes have been deemed unsuitable.
“The inspections are continuing and the number of unsuitable houses is expected to increase. We need more specialized technical staff to record the damage,” added the mayor.
