Α quickly developing landslide in the area of Ancient Olympia in Peloponnese has caused parts of a hill above a settlement to give way, damaging a single-family home and forcing its residents to evacuate, local reports said.
The landslide has destroyed sections of the house’s retaining wall and courtyard. Cracks were also detected inside the building, prompting authorities to call for an on-site inspection.
More settlement homes are reportedly at risk from the landslides, however, there are so far no reports whether the archaeological site is also at risk.
According to a Skai TV report, the settlement is very close at the entrance of the Ancient Olympia.
“The whole mountain will come down” said Eytyxia Fotiadi, the owner of the damaged house told media adding that the phenomenon started on Saturday, February 7, 2026.
The Fotiadis family is reportedly considering legal action to determine responsibility for the lack of preventive measures. They said the problem had been known for months and that they had formally notified the Greek Archaeological Service in writing. However, local reports said the request for intervention was not approved due to the strict protection rules in place in the area, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Speaking to state broadcaster ERT, Fotiadi said that she saw some cracks inside her house, which is why she had sent an email to the archaeology department in September, asking to be allowed to build a new enclosure, because there is a high risk of flooding and fire, however, the answer she received was that it is an archaeological zone and work is not allowed in the area.
Prolonged and heavy rainfall in recent days appears to have accelerated the phenomenon.
The woman added that authorities told her that she had to leave her house for 4-5 days, until the landslide phenomenon subsided.
The rainfalls in the last weeks have caused landslides in several parts of Greece such as the Ionian Highway in the western part of the country that has been closed to traffic or the village Anesti in Drama in the North.
Landslides are the tragic consequence of the wildfires in summer.
