Thessaly coping with evacuations, destroyed infrastructure, as Pinios river threatens Larissa

Rescues and evacuations of people in Trikala and Karditsa, sections of which have been inundated by water and mud covering entire homes up to the roofs after the ‘Daniel’ storm, continued through Friday night, while the port city of Volos struggled to restore its water supply and Larissa braced itself for further massive flooding of Pinios river, on Saturday.

In Larissa, several evacuations have taken place in neighborhoods of the city or residents asked to move to higher floors, as Pinios has already flooded as in the past but water levels in the city are expected to rise beyond the current rise of 10 meters. Several drainage channels in the city are overwhelmed by the waters, while rescuers are using inflatable boats to evacuate people to higher parts of the city. Volunteers and city personnel have been filling sacks with sand and trying to place them in spots that will break some of the worse flooding.

Karditsa and Trikala

Entire areas of Karditsa and Trikala, major production areas for Greece, look like lakes. In cities like Palamas and nearby villages of Metamorfossi, Vlochos, Astritsa, Marathea, and Rizovouni, the catastrophe has been described as being “of biblical proportions”: homes and businesses destroyed, animals killed, cultivations flooded, and infrastructure wiped out. Communication with relatives in other regions is difficult, there is no power or water supply, and residents who have escaped the flooding to higher buildings have struggled to secure food, drinking water or medications, some of which are supplied by local authorities or by drone.

Farkadonas, the city, looks like a huge lake in the Trikala region, while elsewhere as well entire villages have been submerged in flood waters. In addition, landslides and falling rocks have made circulation difficult in other areas, and bridges have collapsed. Whenever possible, central points in towns have been designated for evacuation and urgent supplies.

Volos and Pilio

Volos and its prefecture of Magnissia, including the popular tourist region of Mt Pilio, continued to face serious issues. In Volos proper, pumping stations and a large part of the water distribution network have been destroyed by the storm this past week.

Through some repairs the city has been supplying non-drinkable water intermittently and by rotation at specific times, while bottled water has been brought in the city by trucks and ship paid for by the city and by donors. It has been distributed through city halls in the city proper and nearby areas.

At the same time, city personnel are working at removing mud and materials to clear streets, which are also blocked by cars swept away by the floods following torrential rains in the region. The greatest problems are faced by neighborhoods near the Old Port and Palees, where tons of mud have collected.

The prefecture of Magnissia in general is facing great destruction in its road infrastructure, which has also made it nearly impossible to rescue holiday makers in the villages of Mt Pilio by road. Roads and bridges have collapsed and several rescues can only be achieved by sea, especially on the coasts.

Army mechanics are working to complete the Belley-type metal bridge over the Pelegrino torrent, which would reconnect South Pilio with Volos. In East Pilio, the villages of Zagora, Pouri and Chorefto, Anilio and Mouressi are completely isolated and there is no more supply of food or power in the region. A crew from the Public Power Corporation arrived by boat from Volos is trying to restore power in South Pilio.

Athens-Thessaloniki road

In the Athens-Thessaloniki National Highway, a temporary halt to traffic was introduced by police because of a high level of water on the tarmac. This affected the section near Larissa and lanes heading toward Thessaloniki, while in Pieria (between Larissa and Thessaloniki) traffic was halted in the direction toward Athens until the situation improves. Some exceptions were allowed, including emergency vehicles, otherwise route diversions were introduced.