Following an unprecedented evacuation of students from a flooded school in western Athens, authorities have decided to close all schools in the Attica area, including Athens, Piraeus and the suburbs, on Friday October 15, 2021, as weather is forecast to deteriorate due to cyclone Ballos.
Day and night schools in the same areas are closed today, on Thursday.
The decision to close the schools was taken by the governor of Attica, Giorgos Patoulis, as a “precaution for the safety of students.”
The decision came a few hours after photographs of an evacuation of an elementary school in Nea Philadelphia, western Athens, flooded the Greek internet and the media talked about “shame.”
When the schoolyard was flooded Thursday afternoon and muddy rainwater began to flow into the classroom, teachers moved the desks outside and “built” a bridge so students could pass to safety and return home with their parents, who were waiting outside.
“The water in the yard has reached a depth of 30-40 cm, and if we did something immediately, the water would get into the classroom,” said mass media teacher.
According to the teacher, the schoolyard was flooded, as the drain grates were clogged with leaves and debris, and the slope of the school grounds “helped” the accumulation of rainwater.
“The only exit was through a side door,” the teacher said, adding that “there was no way to get to the main door, as we had to go through the water, which reached a depth of 40 cm.”
Students from a nearby high school are reported to have climbed onto desks awaiting evacuation. The school also houses a kindergarten, primary and secondary school, which were also flooded. This is not the first time a particular school building has been flooded, as the state-owned broadcaster ERT reports, as it is built slightly below the level of the surrounding area. At the same time, the sewage wells are in an inadequate state. The video shows how the teacher carries the child from the kindergarten in his arms through the flooded yard to safety.
The regional authorities advised all citizens to avoid unnecessary travel in bad weather and to take protective measures.
Athens and Attica badly hit by the bad weather cyclone Ballos…
So far, schools will be closed on Friday in the municipalities of Nafplio and Argos in the eastern Peloponnese, as well as schools in Halkidiki, Evia and parts of Lakonia. Possibly other closings will be announced, which will be announced later. …
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