A 77-year-old man who had stayed at home during the floods that hit the center of Greece was found dead this Saturday, which brings the death toll to 11. deathly victims for him natural disaster. Others Six people are missing.
The man resided in Paltsia coastal town on the mountainous peninsula of Pelionbathed by Aegean Sea to the east and the Pagasetic Gulf to West. Despite the pleas of his wife, who left the place, he refused to leave his home. “I have lived through storms,” he told her.
His body was dragged by the water to the Aegeanand after passing through the skiathos islandarrived at another island, Evawhere he was found on Saturday night, according to authorities.
Pelion was the first area affected by the Torrential rains Tuesday, with some locations reporting nearly 30 inches of rainfall in less than a day. The rain spread to the rest of the region Thessalyto the west, where it continued on Wednesday and Thursday.
This Saturday afternoon the evacuation of another village near an important greek cityfaced with the risk that a swollen river would break the flood defenses that the authorities had recently reinforced.
Rescuers also evacuated residents trapped in already flooded areas in other parts of Thessaly.
The evacuated village was Omorfochorilocated about 8 kilometers by road from Larissa, the capital and largest city of Thessalywith some 150,000 inhabitants. Residents were alerted by SMS to leave the area due to the increased flow of the river. Peneus River.
But the main concern remains that the river, which had already overflowed, could flood Larissa. Authorities placed tens of thousands of bags filled with sand and rock along the river banks, and opened diversion canals west of the city.
The governor of Thessaly, Kostas Agorastoshad to be escorted by police on Saturday afternoon while visiting Palamas, one of the most affected areas in the southwest of the region. A small group of protesters scolded and pushed him, as seen in a video posted on social media.
The first Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakiswho canceled his annual state of the economy address scheduled for this weekend and visited the flooded areas on Friday, said he had contacted the European Union to request financial aid from the bloc of 27 member countries for reconstruction efforts.
“Our priority in the coming days is to ensure that we can evacuate our compatriots from areas where they could be in danger,” Mitsotakis said.
The Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported that, of the Air Force’s 12 Puma search and rescue helicopters, only four are operational, and the rest were dismantled for parts or have not flown for so long that they can no longer fly.
There are also doubts about the capacity of regional and municipal authorities to deal with major crises, despite having received more powers and funds following reforms enacted more than a decade ago.
(AP)
Source-www.infobae.com