Unprecedented disaster in Greece. The exceptional flood that has been affecting Bulgaria and Turkey for a few days, as well as the Hellenic Peninsula, is modifying the very landscape of some areas. In Thessaly entire plains are totally flooded. In four areas around the city of Larissa, evacuations have been ordered in the last few hours following the flooding of the Pineios river. Parts of the city, which with 150 thousand inhabitants is among the five largest Greek metropolises, have already begun to flood: the situation is tragic and the water is increasing minute by minute. Hundreds of people are still believed to be trapped in unreachable villages because roads were flooded or swept away by landslides triggered by rain.
Helicopters and even boats were used to evacuate residents. The coastguard said 270 people were rescued by air between yesterday and today as rescue operations continue.
The body of a 69-year-old man was recovered from the sea and transported to the coastal town of Velos, but it is unclear whether the elderly man died as a result of the floods. According to local media, the victim fell from the rocks while trying to get fresh water as the wave of bad weather interrupted water supplies in his community. In other areas, residents of villages left without water and electricity have asked for help via radio and television, claiming that many people are still on the roofs, without food or water.
During a meeting with the mayors of the areas affected by the floods, in the municipality of Karditsa, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. «We will do what is necessary: I will also mobilize all available European resources in order to have additional support, first of all to cover families’ compensation needs. We will immediately start recording the damage”, declared the Greek prime minister.
The numbers
In Zagora del Pelion 910 millimeters of rain were recorded, in Portarià 885, in Pezùla di Karditsa 660, in Karditsa city 659, in Volos 617, in Kofoi di Magnesia 550. Amounts that should usually fall in an entire year, but instead they went down in a few days.
The confirmed victims, in Greece alone, are at least seven, but there are still many missing and the damage incalculable.