Why Greece Keeps Flooding: The Regions Most at Risk After Deadly Storms

by · Greek City Times

A week after torrential rain left one man dead on Rhodes and swept cars into the sea, Greece is again asking why the same areas keep flooding, and which regions face the greatest risk as autumn rainfall intensifies.

What happened last week

Heavy rain and thunderstorms caused severe flooding and one death across Rhodes, Evia and the Sporades islands, The Guardian reported. According to the National Observatory of Athens, a weather station on Rhodes recorded 202mm of rain between 3.30am and 9.50am (UTC) on 14 October.

A 62-year-old man died after a torrent of water swept his car onto a beach, Reuters reported. Deutsche Welle said his body was found near Archangelos on the island’s east coast and that local authorities identified him as a hotel employee. The Greek coastguard said four passenger vehicles were swept into the sea, while regional authorities carried out more than 30 rescue and extrication operations, according to The Guardian.

Read more: Greece Issues Emergency Weather Alert for Aegean Islands

On Skiathos, floodwaters swept away two cars. DW reported power outages on Skiathos and Skopelos, fallen trees and damaged roads on Evia, and the highest civil protection alert level for Attica, the Sporades and Crete.

In Evia, almost 300 litres of rain per square metre fell at Steni across 13 and 14 October, according to To Vima. The overflowing Kireas River in the island’s north destroyed about 100 metres of road, and the Region of Central Greece said more than 60 machines were mobilised and three temporary detours built.

Why some regions are more vulnerable

Heavy rain sets the process in motion, but its effects depend heavily on local landscape, Niki Evelpidou, a professor in the Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, told To Vima. Its analysis outlines distinct risks by region:

  • Crete: steep slopes and mountainous terrain concentrate water rapidly, as seen in flooding in early October.
  • Thessaly: water flowing from the surrounding mountains collects in a large, flat basin crossed by rivers and drainage networks.
  • Attica: asphalt and buildings stop water soaking into the ground and speed up runoff, so flash floods occur when drainage systems are overwhelmed.
  • Western Greece, Epirus and the Peloponnese: steep catchments produce rapid runoff, while low-lying areas and river mouths collect water.
  • Central and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace: extensive river basins and low-lying terrain.
  • Aegean and Ionian islands: steep slopes, small torrents, narrow valleys and coastal settlements can produce sudden floods with little time to respond.

The official high-risk map

Revised flood hazard and risk maps from the Ministry of Environment and Energy identify Zones of High Flood Risk under EU legislation, To Vima reported. Eastern Central Greece has 23 such zones, Attica 15, the Aegean islands 11, Crete 10 and Thessaly nine.

In Attica, the zones include the Kifisos basin, streams in Megara and Nea Peramos, parts of Aspropyrgos and Elefsina, Mesogeia, Marathon and Nea Makri. In Evia, they include Psachna and Politika, the Kireas basin, Manikiatis and Sarantapotamos. On Rhodes, Malona, Kalathos and Afantou are listed, alongside low-lying land near Rhodes town, with further zones on Kos, Naxos, Samos, Chios and Lesvos.

A long record of deadly floods

A University of Athens team analysed 1,994 flood events recorded in Greece between 1886 and 2022. It found 51.5 per cent occurred in autumn and 27.3 per cent in winter, with October and November the main flood months, according to To Vima.

Research by the National Observatory of Athens, cited by the newspaper, recorded 112 flood episodes in Attica between 2000 and 2020, 73 of which affected Athens, Piraeus and the suburbs. Those floods claimed 38 lives, the deadliest being Mandra in November 2017, with 24 victims. Storm Daniel in September 2023 flooded about 1,150 square kilometres, mainly in Thessaly, while the storm known as Thalia killed eight people, mostly in central Evia, in August 2020.

A World Weather Attribution study cited by To Vima estimated that human-caused climate change made the extreme rainfall of September 2023 across Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey up to 10 times more likely and up to 40 per cent more intense.

What can be done

“We cannot prevent rain, but we can significantly reduce the chances of it turning into a disaster,” Professor Evelpidou said.

She called for coordinated management of entire drainage basins, updated flood-hazard maps, maintained drainage networks, protected natural waterways and early warnings. Restoring wetlands and riverbanks can help, she said, while cities can cut runoff with permeable surfaces and spaces where water can be stored temporarily.

The central question, she said, is not which area will flood next, but whether cities, settlements and infrastructure can be planned around how the natural environment works, rather than repeatedly dealing with the consequences after disaster strikes.

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