Tons of mud, villages cut off and seven dead – storm “Daniel” has moved away, but the consequences in Greece are catastrophic. People are still missing. The damage could be in the billions.
The storm “Daniel” settled over the central Greek region of Thessaly for days and flooded entire areas of the country. According to the Greek weather authority EMY, it has now passed over Greece, but the situation remains catastrophic in many regions.
At least eight villages remain cut off from the outside world, the news channel ERTnews reported. Drones show that entire regions are still under water. According to the broadcaster, ten helicopters and armored vehicles are currently in use to rescue people from cut-off regions and towns, including the elderly, small children, babies and pregnant women.
So far seven dead and many more missing
According to information from the dpa news agency, the number of known fatalities is currently seven, although there are fears that there could be more victims. The rescue workers have not yet been able to reach all of the flood areas.
It is also still unclear how many people are still missing. A total of around 2,000 people have been rescued so far, said a spokesman for the fire department.
Lots of tons of mud in Volos city center
Authorities said twice as much rain fell in 12 hours in many of the affected areas as the capital Athens normally receives in a year. In some regions the water was more than two meters high and some buildings collapsed completely.
Early in the morning, the alarm was also raised for the city of Larisa. There the Pinios river reached a water level of 9.5 meters – normally it is around four meters, as the daily newspaper “Kathimerini” reported. The fire department evacuated several parts of the city that were at risk of flooding. “The situation is tragic,” one resident told the Greek television channel Open. In her area, the water levels are rising “from minute to minute.”
The port city of Volos, with around 150,000 inhabitants, is largely cut off from the outside world because streets are flooded or destroyed and many tons of mud have been washed into the city. Drinking water and food in supermarkets were running low, Greek media reported.
Austrian couple goes missing
The Greek weather service Meteo said around 72,000 hectares of land were flooded across the country. The community of Karditsa in southwestern Thessaly is particularly affected – it currently resembles a large lake.
The situation on the Pelion Peninsula is also difficult. According to the Austrian news agency APA, which cites the Austrian Foreign Ministry, two Austrians are missing there. A landlord of holiday apartments in the town of Xinovrysi had already told Greek media on Tuesday that a young Austrian couple had been caught in the flash flood and washed into the sea along with their holiday home. Since then, there has been no trace of the couple, who are said to come from Graz.
Experts expect billions in damage
The extent of the damage caused by the floods is difficult to predict – the port city of Volos has suffered enormous infrastructure damage. The entire region of Thessaly is considered the “granary” of Greece; most of the fields here are under water, some of which are meters high. What this means for farmers and the harvest cannot yet be estimated. Experts spoke in the Greek media of damage to infrastructure and agriculture that could run into billions.
According to the Greek weather agency EMY, the storm “Daniel” had settled over the central Greek region of Thessaly since Monday and lasted until Thursday . The amount of rainfall from “Daniel” exceeded anything previously measured by Greek meteorologists. In some places, more than 700 liters of water per square meter fell in less than 24 hours.
Source : Tages Schau