Athens, Greece – The body of a missing 77-year-old man was discovered on Saturday, bringing the death toll from the devastating floods in Central Greece to 11. The situation remains dire, with six individuals still unaccounted for, and the possibility of additional missing persons cannot be ruled out.
The elderly man resided in the coastal village of Paltsi, nestled within the mountainous Pelion peninsula, which is bordered by the Aegean Sea to the east and Pagasitikos gulf to the west. Despite the pleas of his wife, who evacuated, the man chose to remain in his home, declaring, “I have been through storms.”
Tragically, the man’s lifeless body was discovered in the Aegean, having drifted past the island of Skiathos to Evia, another island, where it was found late on Saturday, according to authorities. The Pelion region had initially borne the brunt of torrential rains starting on Tuesday, with some areas recording nearly 30 inches of rainfall in less than a day. Subsequently, Thessaly, the neighboring region to the west, faced severe flooding on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
As the crisis persists, the urgency to bolster flood defenses intensifies. A village near the major Greek city of Larissa was ordered to evacuate on Saturday afternoon due to rising waters of the Pineios River. Residents received SMS alerts directing them to a town southeast of their location. Meanwhile, rescue teams continue to evacuate stranded residents from areas already inundated by flooding elsewhere in Thessaly.
The main concern currently revolves around the risk of the Pineios River overflowing and flooding Larissa, a city with a population of approximately 150,000. In anticipation of this threat, authorities have deployed tens of thousands of sand and pebble-filled bags along the river’s banks while opening diversion channels west of the city.
In the midst of these challenges, the governor of Thessaly, Kostas Agorastos, was himself evacuated by police on Saturday afternoon. A video shared on social media captured a small crowd of protesters hurling insults and jostling the governor during his visit to the hard-hit town of Palamas in the southwest of the region.
The latest disaster, following closely on the heels of devastating wildfires, has prompted criticism regarding the response of state and local authorities. Reports indicate that the rescue efforts during the initial days of the floods were insufficient, leaving people stranded on the rooftops of their homes. Furthermore, concerns have been raised about the readiness of search-and-rescue capabilities, with only a fraction of the Air Force’s Puma helicopters currently operational.
