Greek floods and fires expose Europe's frail climate defenses

By Angeliki Koutantou and Renee Maltezou MOUZAKI, Greece (Reuters) - Dimitris Kouretas, elected governor of Greece's central province of Thessaly last month in the wake of calamitous floods, struggles to sleep at night. The flooding in September - Greece's worst on record - devastated the fertile region, swept away agricultural land, roads and railways, and killed 16 people. It was the second major flood in three years to hit Thessaly, part of a pattern of worsening extreme weather in Europe. Kouretas reels off a list of flood protection projects left unfinished by previous governments, includ...