Thessaly farmland drowned by Storm Daniel

Heavy rains brought by storm Daniel caused record floodings in Central Greece on September 7 2023. Homes, roads and crops were left under water around Thessaly’s main city, Larissa, as river Pinios and its tributaries breached their banks up to Trikala westwards. 16 people died as a consequence of the storm, that also killed two in Turkey and Bulgaria.

A blow to the Greek farming sector

It is estimated that a total of 700 sq. km were covered in water in Thessaly, a catastrophic development for the region’s economy. Dubbed the breadbasket of Greece, Thessaly is home to various farm productions: corn, cotton, tobacco, orchards, most of which were devastated by the floodings shortly before harvests. Tens of thousands of livestock were also killed. Only a third of the production can be salvaged, but this does not mean that farmers will be able to sell it.

Greek transport severely hit by flood

Storm Daniel and the consecutive flooding of the area indeed caused extensive damage to the transport network too. This includes portions of the Athens-Thessaloniki motorway, a major corridor, as well local roads and bridges. A 50-km railway section carrying goods and passengers between southern and northern Greece was also destroyed. According to the government, the cost of the disaster will amount to billions of euros.