ATHENS — Main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance deputy Effie Achtsioglou, responsible for economic issues in the party, and the party's deputy head for island policy Andreas Michailidis, on Friday slammed the government's response so far to the multiple and urgent needs of quake-stricken Samos, calling it "manifestly inadequate".

"The support measures announced by the finance ministry on November 9 were manifestly inadequate while they do not, in any case, meet the immediate and urgent survival needs facing many residents and professionals," they said in a joint statement.

They noted that the repercussions from the serious damage to houses, businesses and other buildings were compounded by the outbreak of the pandemic and the restriction measures imposed. "Many buildings have been evacuated … and roughly 400 local residents are being hosted in hotels as 2,100 buildings have been classed as temporarily uninhabitable," they said.

Achtsioglou and Michailidis underlined the need to accelerate processes to provide immediate financial support to the quake stricken and called for an immediate one-off benefit that will allow them to adequately meet their urgent and unforeseeable needs at a basic level.