Cyclone "Balos": emergency alert for residents of Attica

Residents of Attica received an emergency message today at about 12 noon from the Ministry of Citizens’ Protection – service 112, which warns of the danger of heavy rains that cyclone Ballos brought to the metropolitan area.

The Ministry of Climate Crises and Civil Protection informed the citizens that extreme weather events will affect the area: there is a risk of flooding of certain areas, falling trees and other troubles.

Piraeus street closed

At this time, in Attica, traffic along one of the central thoroughfares of the capital, Piraeus Street, was stopped due to the accumulation of water in the stream leading to Piraeus from the level of Petru Ralli Street and in the stream leading to Athens from the height of Hamosternas Street.

The fire department has received 22 flood calls so far, mostly in the basements of New Philadelphia, Kato Patisia, Peristeri, Moschato and Kifissia.

Where will “Ballos” go in the next hours?

According to the latest forecasts from the National Observatory of Athens / meteo.gr, the remainder of Thursday 10/14/21 and until Friday morning 10/15/21, rain and thunderstorms are expected across the country, with the likelihood of hail, mainly in the Ionian Islands and the Aegean. and also in the coastal regions of the Peloponnese, Central Greece and possibly Halkidiki.

By Friday morning, areas of the South Ionian Sea, the Peloponnese, Central Greece and Evia will be severely affected, and from today until tomorrow morning, heavy rains will occur in places in Central and Eastern Macedonia, Thrace, as well as in the North Aegean Sea.

It is noted that heavy rains and thunderstorms are expected in the Attica metropolitan area from Thursday noon to Friday noon, with the possibility of hail.

Traffic on the main roads in Athens is currently difficult due to heavy rainfall, which exacerbates traffic problems. Drivers must have enough patience, especially in the area of ​​the two rivers that run under Kifissos Avenue. The problems start from the heights of Iera Odos to New Philadelphia. At the same time, traffic is increasing to Petra Rally, Mesogeyon, Katehaki, Kifissias, Vasilissis Sophias and Sigrow avenues.

Watch the traffic on the streets online. It is noted that snowfalls have been recorded since Wednesday night in the mountains of Western Macedonia and Pindu.

The army is on full alert

“The armed forces are on standby to assist the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, should it be needed in case of worsening weather, in consultation with Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos,” the Deputy Minister of National Defense underlines.

In a message on Facebook, the Deputy Minister of National Defense said that yesterday, Wednesday, October 13, the Ministry of National Defense held a wide meeting with the head of GEETHA, General Konstantinos Floros, during which new meteorological data were presented, the latest forecast models were updated.

Closed schools

Cyclone “Ballos” forced the authorities in many areas to keep schools closed. In particular, in Kefalonia, Mayor Sami decided to announce that “today, October 14, 2021, all schools of pre-school, primary and secondary education will be closed due to unfavorable weather conditions.”

At the same time, due to bad weather that hit Kefalonia and Zakynthos, from early Thursday morning, the mayor of Argostoli, Theophilos Michalatos, decided to suspend the work of the primary school and kindergarten of Poros. The decision was taken due to heavy rains that prevail within the territorial boundaries of the municipality.

Schools, kindergartens and KDAP of the municipality of Messolonghi will be closed today. As mentioned in a related statement by the municipality, “due to bad weather, which, according to EMY forecasts, is expected to affect the Municipality of Messolonga, by the decision of the Mayor Costas Liros”. It is noted that this decision “was made with caution and taking into account the safety of students, parents and teaching staff.”

Intense weather events and problems in Northern Greece

It is raining throughout Central Macedonia and there is heavy traffic on the streets of Thessaloniki.

According to the head of the Civil Protection Department of the Central Macedonia region, Babi Stergiadis, “the flows are starting to swell in the areas of Halkidiki and Pieria, where there were problems the day before yesterday, due to the previous wave of bad weather.” For this reason, civil protection vehicles are on the roads of Thermaikos, Volvi municipalities , Delta and Chalcedona in Thessaloniki, Katerini and Dion Olympus in Pieria, Kassandra and Barbara in Chalkidiki. “Above, in the prefectures of Pella, Kilkis and Serres, it rains, but no problems are reported at the moment,” he adds.

Meanwhile, there was already contact with the competent services of Athens about the possibility of declaring a state of emergency in some areas, if necessary, while all the vice-governors and heads of services of the Central Macedonian region report numerous problems.

Destruction of crops in Prespa and Kastoria

Bean growers in Prespa and the Kastorje region are stumped by continued heavy rains over the past 12 days, which could potentially lose all of their production this year. According to farmers, the fields in most cases were flooded or waterlogged due to the large amount of water that fell out in recent days.

President of the Pelekanos Cooperative Prespa Costas Napaldidis said that “over the past few days, at least 160 mm of rain has fallen, making it impossible to enter the fields while we are at the harvesting stage.” He explained that “only 5% of the production was threshed and delivered to warehouses, while the rest of the beans are in the fields. Moisture and water can cause mold or swell. “

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