GREECE/TURKEY: Areas in Greece and Turkey remain on a state of alert after the Evros river bursts its banks and floods homes
Record ID:
872951
GREECE/TURKEY: Areas in Greece and Turkey remain on a state of alert after the Evros river bursts its banks and floods homes
- Title: GREECE/TURKEY: Areas in Greece and Turkey remain on a state of alert after the Evros river bursts its banks and floods homes
- Date: 16th March 2006
- Summary: CLOSE UP OF COWS INSIDE BARN, WATER IS UP TO ROOF AND COWS ARE TRYING TO BREATHE IN SPACE LEFT LIVESTOCK IN COMPOUND UP TO THE ROOF IN WATER
- Embargoed: 31st March 2006 13:00
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- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Environment / Natural World
- Reuters ID: LVAAM1SEVKUQ4FTM9BQGM5MJFXZ7
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- Story Text: Rescue workers continued on Wednesday (March 15) to scour villages under metres of water for people trapped in their homes as waters from an overflowed river covered everything in their path.
The Evros river, one of the largest rivers in the Balkans, bordering Bulgaria and Turkey, burst its banks after days of heavy rain, causing the evacuation of surrounding villages and destruction of farmland and properties.
Local civil officials said on Wednesday the river remained at record high levels in flooding they said had not been seen in 15 years.
In some villages water levels were recorded at close to seven metres, above the emergency warning level of 5.70 metres.
The Evros prefect said some 50,000 acres of farmland and hundreds of houses in at least six villages had been buried under water.
A Greek military guardpost at the Turkish border disappeared under the currents, while only rooftops of barns and houses showed evidence of neighbourhoods that had now become lakes.
Destitute farmers watched helplessly as hundreds of trapped livestock such as cows, sheep and pigs drowned inside barns where waters had reached the ceiling and left no breathing space for the animals.
Domestic dogs and cats clung to trees and on rooftops amidst the floods.
Civil officials said they were waiting for water levels to decline while with the help of emergency services and fire brigades they were battling to keep waters from spreading to more villages in the region.
Severe flooding from the same river was also reported in Turkey and Bulgaria, as rains continued in the region.
Turkey said it was working with neighbouring Bulgaria on an early flood warning system as Turkish troops and emergency services battled flood waters in the border town of Edirne.
Turkish television showed tanks driving through streets flooded with water from the nearby rivers of Tunca, Arda and Meric. Soldiers distributed food aid to stranded citizens.
Earlier, Edirne officials said Bulgaria had exacerbated an already difficult situation by releasing water from a dam near the border. Turkish media later reported Bulgaria had closed the dam again at Ankara's request. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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