Two people were missing, news channel ERTnews reported, citing police. There is currently no information on the cause of the accident. The helicopter was on its way to Volos, the station reported. Many people spent the night there without electricity. Residents were unable to leave their homes because the streets turned into violent torrents, carrying stones, branches, rubbish, bins and even cars towards the sea.
Parts of a local hospital were also flooded, but it remained operational. The curfew has been in effect since Thursday morning. Several nearby villages were evacuated. According to their own information, firefighters rescued more than 250 people.
Edition IMAGO/ANE/Vasilis Ikonomou /Eurokinissi Once again masses of water are running through Volos
“Human lives are in danger. The world is in danger,” Mayor Achilleas Beos told the ERTnews news channel in the morning, visibly horrified, “80 percent of the city is still without power.” In many places the water is standing still, drainage pipes have been destroyed, people can’t go to work, go Since the severe flooding in early September, people have worked tirelessly to clean up the damage, mud and rubbish, but so much water simply can’t drain away.
Volos flooded again after heavy rain
For the second time in just a few weeks, the Greek port city of Volos has been flooded by heavy rain. The “Elias” depression brought rainfall of around 113 liters per square meter.
Agricultural areas flooded to a depth of several meters
The interior of Volos, a large plain widely used for agriculture, where, according to residents, the water has risen several meters high again, is also seriously affected. Firefighters were also brought in from other parts of Greece, and the army was also mobilized with boats and tracked vehicles to rescue people from homes.
The city of Larisa, in central Greece, and parts of the foothills of the Pelio Mountains were ravaged by storms – also for the second time. The deep “Elias” also ravaged the northern half of the island of Euboea, causing floods and mudflows.
Extreme weather
While individual extreme events cannot be directly attributed to a specific cause, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, one thing is clear: the climate crisis is making extreme weather events, such as floods, storms and heat, more frequent and more intense. This means that precipitation and storms are getting stronger, heat waves are getting hotter, and droughts are getting drier.
Severe devastation as early as September
From September 4th to 8th, a strong storm hit central Greece. Heavy rains flooded villages and towns in many places. The amount of precipitation reached unprecedented levels of more than 700 liters per square meter in less than 24 hours. 17 people were killed.
As a result of “Daniel”, agricultural areas and livestock farms were also flooded. Greek Agriculture Minister Lefteris Avgenakis said on Wednesday that cleanup teams had already removed more than 180,000 dead farm animals.
Portal/Louisa Gouliamaki A thick layer of mud covers the city’s streets
However, more than a dozen farms are still inaccessible due to destroyed roads. The flood also destroyed the production of cotton, corn, wheat, apples and kiwi. After the catastrophe, the Athens government was accused of mismanagement of the crisis. She promised two billion euros in reconstruction aid. Before the floods, Greece had already been hit by forest fires this summer.
Storm “Daniel” advanced in September – causing catastrophic flooding in Libya, with thousands of deaths.