{ # block to limit the effect of local
  local $/ = "\narea=";
  <$fh>; # read until the first "\narea=";
}
# here we are back to reading until the end of the line
if (not eof $fh) # if the end of the file hasn't been reached while trying to find "area="
{
  $hash{$dir}{area} = <$fh>; # read the rest of the line
}