GREECE: Residents in north-eastern areas evacuate their homes as floods continue to plague the region

Record ID: 872866

  • Title: GREECE: Residents in north-eastern areas evacuate their homes as floods continue to plague the region
  • Date: 17th March 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE)(GREEK) GEORGE VERVERIS, CHIEF OF EVROS EMERGENCY RESCUE TEAM SAYING: "We are going from house to house conducting checks in case there are people trapped inside so we can get them out, because the water is still rising here in this village."
  • Embargoed: 1st April 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • City:
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Environment / Natural World
  • Reuters ID: LVAABITKGE1Q5GJI0Z5UFWVM81AO
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Villagers in the flooded regions of north-eastern Greece on Thursday (March 16) continued to pass difficult hours as water levels from the overflowed Evros river remained high and rescue workers evacuated residents.
    River flows that had reached as high as seven metres showed no sign of declining despite a lapse in rainfall, and homes in a number of villages surrounding the 530 km river had been submerged under water.
    Evacuations were taking place in several villages, with rescue workers pulling trapped residents from windows and balconies and boating them to high land.
    Rescue teams said waters continued to rise, and their operation was being hindered by villagers refusing to leave their property behind.
    Electricity and the water supply had been cut in the region due to the flooding, while the building of natural earthen levies continued to keep currents from homes.
    Civil officials, with the help of the military and fire brigade, were planning to break dykes to try and divert the waters away from villages and into uninhabited farmland.
    Locals, mainly farmers and livestock producers, said the floods were a financial disaster as tens of thousands of acres of produce had been destroyed and scores of animals had drowned.
    The regional railway station in the village of Pithio had disappeared under the currents, while in many villages, cars and furniture could be seen floating in the waters.
    No deaths had been reported in the region since Monday (March 13) when the river broke its banks due to heavy rainfall and flooded huge areas in this border province as well as regions in neighbouring Bulgaria and Turkey.
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