Firefighters pump water following a flood at the village of Agia Anna, at the northern part of Evia island, Greece, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Thodoris Nikolaou)
ATHENS — The island of Evia, Greece's second-largest, has been hit by floods months after devastating forest fires last summer destroyed about a third of its forest cover.
There were no casualties from the heavy rains that hit the northern part of the island, but dozens of residents had to be evacuated from flooded homes, roads became impassable and beaches were filled with mud sliding down from nearby mountains that were now devoid of vegetation.
Officials who inspected the damage announced the government will accelerate a 20 million-euro ($23 million) program to aid the devastated areas, as local officials pleaded for action.
A storm has been buffeting northern and central Greece since Thursday, bringing large amounts of rain. A weather station on Mt. Pelio, on the Greek mainland and close to northern Evia, has recorded 700 mm (27.5 inches) of rain since Thursday, with more expected Sunday night and Monday.
About 300,000 acres of forest, bushes and farmland were burnt in different parts of Greece this past summer amid the country's worst heat wave in over 30 years. More than a third of the affected area, or about 115,106 acres, was in northern Evia, according to data from Beyond, a research center at the National Observatory of Athens.
Scientists say there's little doubt climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is driving extreme events, such as heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods and storms.
Firefighters pump water following a flood at the village of Agia Anna, at the northern part of Evia island, Greece, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Thodoris Nikolaou)
A destroyed road leading to the beach of Agia Anna village, following a flood on the northern part of Evia island, Greece, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Thodoris Nikolaou)
ATHENS - Greece confirmed 5,588 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the National Public Health Organization (EODY) said on Tuesday, bringing all confirmed infections since the pandemic began to 3,427,857 (daily change: +0.
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
PHILADELPHIA – The Federation of Hellenic Societies of Philadelphia and Greater Delaware Valley announced that the Evzones, the Presidential Guard of Greece will be participating in the Philadelphia Greek Independence Day Parade on March 20.
WASHINGTON — Nearly 50 defense leaders from around the world met Monday and agreed to send more advanced weapons to Ukraine, including a Harpoon launcher and missiles to protect its coast, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters.
Sign up for a subscription
Want to save this article? Get a subscription to access this feature and more!
To purchase a gift subscription, please log out of your account, and purchase the subscription with a new email ID.
On April 2, 2021, we celebrated The National Herald’s 106th Anniversary. Help us maintain our independent journalism and continue serving Hellenism worldwide.
In order to deliver a more personalized, responsive, and improved experience, we use cookies to remember information about how you use this site. By Continuing to access the website, you agree that we will store data in a cookie as outlined in our Privacy Policy.
We use cookies on our site to personalize your experience, bring you the most relevant content, show you the most useful ads, and to help report any issues with our site. You can update your preferences at any time by visiting preferences. By selecting Accept, you consent to our use of cookies. To learn more about how your data is used, visit our cookie policy.
You’re reading 1 of 3 free articles this month. Get unlimited access to The National Herald. or Log In
You’ve reached your limit of free articles for this month. Get unlimited access to the best in independent Greek journalism starting as low as $1/week.