Flood in Greece: Rescues continue, damage is huge Ex-Wagner mercenary unpacks shocking Prigozhin orders

Hundreds of people were rescued from villages in the flooded areas of central Greece on Friday. The water masses cut them off from their surroundings for days.

Many elderly and sick people in particular, but also pregnant women and small children, have been taken by helicopter to a sports field in the city of Karditsa, according to Greek media. More than 2,000 people have been brought to safety in recent days. Meanwhile, the death toll rose to seven on Friday.

Many of the rescued were at the end of their strength, some had not eaten for days and barely drank. “I’ve seen wars and famine, but never anything like it,” 104-year-old Stavroula Brazioti, who was taken from Piniada, told ERTnews. “An old neighbor was swimming to death in her flooded kitchen, just five houses away from ours,” a woman from Palamas told Skai. “The rescuers said they would save the living first and then bring back the dead.”

Two Austrians were also missing. “At this point, we regretfully have to confirm that two Austrian citizens are missing from Pelion, which was severely affected by the storms,” the Foreign Ministry in Vienna confirmed to the Austrian news agency APA. A landlord of holiday apartments in the village of Xinovrysi had already told Greek media on Tuesday that a young Austrian couple had been hit by 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 be from Graz. However, official confirmation from the Greek authorities was not received until Friday.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis promised extensive aid to those affected. “I want you to know that we will do everything humanly possible. I understand the anger and the anger,” Mitsotakis said, referring to criticism from the parliamentary opposition, who felt the government had failed given the extensive damage. He is not hiding but is there in these difficult times and will support the people and local governments, Mitsotakis said.

There will be no discussion of resources, it is about rapid implementation. “We will find the money, be it national or European funds,” Mitsotakis said. “We are capable of that.” Vice President of the EU Parliament, Katarina Barley, had already called for help from the EU on Thursday. As with previous natural disasters in other member states, the EU solidarity fund should be used for reconstruction, the SPD politician had said.

The Greek weather agency EMY, meanwhile, declared that storm “Daniel” was over. It had been established over the central Greek region of Thessaly since Monday and lasted until Thursday. The amounts of precipitation from “Daniel” surpassed anything Greek meteorologists had previously measured. Locally, more than 700 liters of water per square meter fell in less than 24 hours.

A map published by the Greek weather service Meteo showed the extent of the flooding. The situation is particularly dramatic in the municipality of Karditsa, which resembles a large lake. In total, about 72,000 hectares were flooded.

The situation is also catastrophic in the port city of Volos, with about 150,000 inhabitants: the city is largely cut off from the outside world because streets have been flooded or destroyed and countless tons of mud have washed into the city. Drinking water and food in supermarkets were running out, Greek media reported.

The damage is still difficult to foresee. The entire region of Thessaly is considered the “granary” of Greece, here most of the fields are sometimes meters high under water. It is difficult to estimate what this means for the farmers and the harvest. In the Greek media, experts spoke of damage to infrastructure and agriculture that could run into the billions. (rbu/sda/dpa)