Entire villages in Thessaly ‘wiped out’
Tragic situation on plains of Karditsa, Trikala as criticism of state shortcomings mounts
Three years after the destruction wrought by the Ianos weather front, the nightmare of catastrophic floods returned to the Thessalian Plain, submerging entire villages under tons of water, destroying infrastructure, livestock and crops.
The death toll reached four on Thursday, as a 49-year-old farmer from Petroto Domokou was found dead, while there were reports of six missing persons in several villages in the wider region.
Anger is mounting with locals referring to an absolute disaster, whose full extent will be revealed after about a week, when the immediate needs are addressed and the water level, which in many areas has risen to more than 2 or 3 meters, recedes.
At the same time, questions are being asked as to why nothing was done pre-emptively to protect regions like the plain of Karditsa and its villages, which were literally immersed in water, and why the necessary works were not carried out in the three years since Ianos.
In the city of Karditsa, the damage caused by the floods on Wednesday extended to shops, ground floors and basements, mainly because of the inadequacy of the drainage system. The embankments of the Karabalis River were tested on Wednesday afternoon but held due to the immediate mobilization to reinforce them. However, criticisms have been made that in order to prevent the city from being flooded, there was no corresponding mobilization to reinforce the embankments on the plain, with the result that huge volumes of water spilled out, “wiping out” entire villages.
Apart from destruction in lowlands, there was also extensive damage in mountainous regions, where, as reported, the damage to infrastructure is enormous.
Residents of the regions are blaming regional authorities and local municipalities, as the weather phenomenon had been developing since Monday and already at dawn on Tuesday had flooded Farsala.
“Everyone knows that if there are floods in Farsala, after 24 to 36 hours there will be floods in Karditsa and Trikala,” residents said, decrying the indifference and delays of the competent authorities.
In total, an estimated €1 billion has reportedly been allocated for post-Ianos projects, of which around €400 million was for flood protection. However, there are many complaints that any projects that have been carried out have been fragmented, and carried out haphazardly.
