The Portuguese government said wildfires that have torn through the country for several weeks have caused nearly one billion euros (1.1 billion dollars) in damages, as exhausted firefighters battled with new blazes in central Portugal. "At this moment, our rough estimate sets the damage at around 925 million euros," Interior Minister Antonio Figueiredo Lopes told reporters while on a visit to some of most hard-hit areas in the centre and south of Portugal. "Unfortunately the calamity still has not ended, fires are still burning, and this number will surely rise," he added. Lopes was flanked by European Union Social Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou, who arrived in Portugal on Friday to inspect damage from the fires that have so far claimed 15 lives.

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