Houses, shops and streets were flooded and people were trapped in their homes and vehicles in southern Athens when a rainstorm hit on Tuesday night. The Fire Service received dozens of calls for help. Note that the flooded areas Kallithea, Moschato, Neo Faliro are right next close to a construction “anti-flooding” project that has been going on for over two years.
Flooded were parts of main roads like Posidonos Avenue along the Athens Riviera at the height of Faliron Delta, the south part of Syggrou Avenue connecting the south suburbs with downtown Athens as well as parts of Petrou Ralli avenue and parts of Kifissos Avenue in Tavros suburb.
Traffic was halted for several hours.
A kindergarten in Kallithea was covered with mud and the water had reached a height of 30 cm.
The parents brought their children back home, the teachers started to clean, the facility will remain closed until Friday
“It is the second time in a month that we get flooded,” locals complained and recalled the unprecedented situation in October were a public bus was covered with water for more than 24 hours.
Locals blame the uncompleted anti-flooding works in the area and accuse the municipality and the regional government for delays and the absence of protection measures.
“The anti-flooding project is flooding us,” a resident told state broadcaster ERT, while another added that the works are blocking the water flow into the sea.
The Fire Service has so far received 83 calls for water pumping mainly from flooded basements in Moschato, Tavros, Kallithea and Paleo Faliro.
20 of the calls concerned the rescue of people who were trapped in their vehicles due to the high level of rainwater on the streets.
Firefighter transported several people into safety, while in other cases, motorists and passengers were rescued with the help of passerby and neighbors.
The Fire Brigade appeals to citizens to be especially careful and in case of dangerous weather phenomena to follow the instructions of the competent authorities.
More heavy rainfalls are forecast later on Wednesday, while another rain-front is forecast for Friday, November 26, 2011.
