Vasilis Tsiamitas, 46, looks over at his village from the burned-out Saint John鈥檚 church in the village of Sesklo, Greece, October 5, 2023. Fierce storms and floods have become more frequent in recent years while rising temperatures make summers hotter and drier, creating tinder-box conditions for wildfires.聽Muddy roads and household furniture piled out to dry in villages across the central mainland region of聽Thessaly, are a constant reminder of the steps Greece needs to take as it聽adapts to climate change聽to mitigate the impact of such freak weather events.聽 REUTERS
SESKLO, Greece 鈥� The fires came first. Then the floods.
In the small village of Sesklo in central Greece, 46-year old Vasilis Tsiamitas has felt the extremes of both freak weather phenomena this summer, that have made Greece a climate change hotspot.
Storm Elias flooded his house, damaged his beach bar and swept away his car in September, finishing off what was left weeks earlier by Storm Daniel, Greece鈥檚 most intense on record, and a July wildfire that scorched his family almond grove.
鈥淕od only knows how I will get past this,鈥� said Tsiamitas, standing outside his two-story family house. The front door is off its hinges, propped up against a wall next to wooden boards soaked by floodwater.
鈥淲hat else could hit me? It can鈥檛 get any worse,鈥� he told Reuters.
Fierce storms and floods have become more frequent in recent years while rising temperatures make summers hotter and drier, creating tinder-box conditions for wildfires.
Muddy roads and household furniture stacked up outside to dry in villages across the central mainland region of Thessaly, are a constant reminder of the steps Greece needs to take as it adapts to climate change to mitigate the impact of such freak weather events.
Sesklo, a village of about 800 residents near the port city of Volos and home to one of Europe鈥檚 oldest prehistoric settlements, has survived natural disasters through the centuries.
Vasilis Tsiamitas, 46, prepares wooden panels to construct a cement wall in front of his house to prevent further flooding, as his son Christos, 5, and his wife Christina Gkareli, 33, look on, in the village of Sesklo, Greece, October 6, 2023. Storm Elias flooded Tsiamitas鈥� house, damaged his beach bar and swept away his car in September, finishing off what was left weeks earlier by storm Daniel, Greece鈥檚 most intense on record, and a July wildfire that scorched his family almond grove.聽鈥淕od only knows how I will get past this,鈥� said Tsiamitas, standing outside his two-storey family house. 鈥淲hat else could hit me? It can鈥檛 get any worse.鈥� REUTERS
But its eldest residents, Tsiamitas says, have never experienced anything like this year鈥檚 devastation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time that our village is tested so much,鈥� said Tsiamitas, who is also the local community leader. 鈥淲e have elderly people sitting at the village square who are 95 years old, 90 years old, they have never experienced such a thing before.鈥�
Start from scratch
The wildfire that broke out in July was burning uncontrolled for at least two days.
Sesklo residents were evacuated in time but the flames, fanned by strong winds, burned through farmland and groves destroying approximately 70% of the village鈥檚 almond and olive oil production, said Tsiamitas.
鈥淭he weather conditions were so bad, the wind, there was no humidity that day, the fire was moving fast. There was not enough time to do anything,鈥� he said.
In early September, Storm Daniel hit Thessaly after Greece鈥檚 longest heatwave in more than 30 years. It killed 16 people and turned the area into an inland sea, destroying homes, farms, and wiping out swathes of crops.
(L-R) Andreas Tsiamitas, 4, Christina Gkareli, 33, Michalis Tsiamitas, 2, and Vasilis Tsiamitas, 46, prepare to eat dinner in Christina鈥檚 parents鈥� apartment, after their part of the house was flooded by Storm Elias, in the village of Sesklo, Greece, October 5, 2023. During Storm Elias, Tsiamitas recounts that he had his youngest son in his arms when a raging torrent flung his front door open, forcing him to race upstairs, where his in-laws live.聽Since then, the water has subsided, revealing the devastation that villages like Sesklo suffered.聽 REUTERS
Tsiamitas, whose beach bar flooded, said most Sesklo residents were not as badly affected as others in the wider region. But their feeling of relief was short-lived.
Weeks later, Elias, a less intense but unexpected storm was the final straw.
Tsiamitas recounts that he had his youngest son in his arms when a raging torrent flung his front door open, forcing him to race upstairs where his in-laws live.
Since then, the water has subsided, revealing the devastation that villages like Sesklo suffered.
鈥淲e should learn our lesson,鈥� Tsiamitas said, looking at stumps of burnt almond trees. 鈥淲e need to uproot them 鈥� we need to plant them again. Again and again, we need to start everything from scratch.鈥�