ATHENS, Feb 13: Firefighters doused smouldering buildings and cleanup crews swept rubble from the streets of central Athens on Monday following a night of rioting during which lawmakers approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the nation from bankruptcy.Rioters destroyed or seriously damaged 93 buildings, the Athens municipality said, while police said at least 45 were burned. They included nine listed as national heritage buildings, mostly in the neoclassical style, while dozens of stores and cafes were smashed and looted.

Smoke still rose from the gutted remains of an 1870 building which had housed one of the capital's most loved cinemas, the Attikon, since 1916.

“Criminals targeted all that was best in the city of Athens, its neoclassical monuments,” said Thanassis Davakis, the Conservatives' cultural policy chief. “The damage must be swiftly redressed and the city's memory restored.”

The stench of tear gas still hung in the air on Monday morning, choking passers-by, while traffic lights at many major intersections were out after being smashed. The municipality said cleanup crews had gathered an estimated 40 tons of broken marble and rocks from the streets of the centre, while railings, drainage covers and paving stones from sidewalks also suffered extensive damage.

More than 170 people were hurt in the rioting which also broke out in other Greek cities. Authorities said 106 police needed medical care after being injured by gasoline bombs, rocks and other objects hurled at them, while at least 70 protesters were also hospitalised.

Police arrested at least 74 people and detained a further 92, while in several cases they had to escort fire crews to burning buildings after protesters prevented access.

Athens Traders' Association head Panaghis Karellas demanded the dismissal of Public Order Minister Christos Papoutsis, and said afflicted shopowners should receive state compensation.

“Once again, those in positions of responsibility, even though they should have been prepared, were unable to fulfil their duty and secure the well-being of citizens and visitors, cultural landmarks and historic buildings, public and private property and our country's international image,” the association said in a statement.

The ESEE national commerce confederation said at least 40 shops were burnt or badly damaged. “Most will most likely never open again,” an ESEE statement said. “The center of the capital looks as if it has been bombed.”

The rioting began on Sunday afternoon after more than 100,000 protesters marched to the parliament ahead of a vote on drastic austerity measures that include axing one in five civil service jobs over the next three years and slashing the minimum wage by more than a fifth.

Lawmakers approved the bill in a 199-74 vote, to the relief of investors who pushed the Athens stock index up 4.7 percent.

The vote was crucial for the country to secure (euro) 130 billion ($172 billion) in new rescue loans and avoid a potentially catastrophic default next month — bankruptcy could push Greece out of Europe's euro currency union, drag down other troubled eurozone countries and further roil global markets.—AP