As a result of the flooding that swept through Thessaly and part of Central Greece, more than 100 thousand animals died. And as the mayor of Tyrnavos, Yiannis Kokouras, said, “If immediate assistance with food is not provided, those who survived the disaster will die of hunger“.
The blow to livestock and agricultural production is enormous not only for the region, but for the entire country.
In his opinion, the main losses in his region were suffered by livestock farmers. “Large numbers of livestock have been lost and, unfortunately, this is during the production process.
According to the mayor of Tyrnavos, “Rural and provincial roads were destroyed. Thousands of hectares of crops are under tons of water. Winemakers cannot get to their vineyards, and now the grapes are being harvested. But our biological station does not have time to work. It was destroyed because the water reaches two meters.”
As of September 13, Tyrnavos still remains blocked from Larisa, and experts are still they can’t name the date when the water will recede.
And although the accounting process has not yet begun, according to the first estimates of breeders, about 1/3 of the animals have been lost, but time is needed for detailed accounting.
Journalists from IN.GR, during their trip to Thessaly, recorded shocking images of animals drowning in the water.
However, when the water level drops, the full scale of the disaster begins to be revealed. The smell of dead animals has filled everything… The immediate priorities of the authorities are the collection, burial and burning of animal carcasses in order to prevent diseases. This is due to the fact that corpses can become a source of epidemic.
For this purpose, 11 refrigerated containers are already operating in the Thessaly area, and there are talks about bringing a mobile incinerator to the area.
The future for farmers and herders of the Thessalian Plain is unknown, as fields where fodder was grown and equipment for processing and storing fodder were damaged or destroyed, and many animals – sheep, cows, calves – and birds drowned.
Other animals trying to escape the devastating floods died horrific deaths. Experts are sounding the alarm about tap water because it is contaminated with sewage, animal carcasses and pesticides.
Athens News reported earlier that the Greek Army General Staff sent to the affected areas five disinfection stations. The decision by the Joint Chiefs of Staff came hours after experts warned of the risk of an outbreak of infectious diseases in the affected areas due to a lack of drinking water, thousands of dead animals and food that may have come into contact with floodwaters. Authorities also fear that infections and viruses such as typhus and anthrax may “break free” from washed-out cemeteries and cattle burial grounds.
As is known, the Ministry of Health has sounded the alarm about infectious diseases in Thessaly, and therefore the reference center at the Public Health Laboratory of the Medical School of the University of Thessaly has already established an epidemiological surveillance system to immediately detect possible cases of gastroenteritis or other infectious diseases.
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