Over 150,000 acres of agricultural land are under water in the regional unit of Evros in north-eastern Greece due to overflow of a large part of the Evros river and the rupture of critical embankments.
The floods are threatening settlements with the next 48 hours to be considered as critical for the development of the phenomenon as neighboring Bulgaria has warned that more volumes of water are expected.
The Greek Civil Protection declared the area in “Red Code” state of emergency from Tuesday, February 24, until Friday, February 27, 2026, urging municipal and regional authorities to convene and take measures. The civil Protection had also declared the area in “Red Code” also February 18-23.
Flooded areas in Evros from the satellite
Satellite data from the European high-resolution satellite Sentinel-2, which passed over Greece at noon on Monday, February 23, shows extensive flooded areas around the Evros River, according to meteo.gr.
As the meteo service of the National Observatory of Athens explained, the floods are due to the high rainfall levels that have been recorded in the area in recent times, as well as the rupture of critical embankments along the outskirts of Kornofolia, as well as in other places such as Mandra, resulting in the waters flooding the plain and agricultural lands.
Waters threaten settlements
According to local media e-evros.gr, more than 100,000 acres have been flooded in Evros. In many places the waters have reached settlements, such as in Pythio, or roads and the railway line have been flooded.
After the break of the embankment in Amorio, the entire area has been filled with water in the farms of Amorio, Kissari and Lavara, by the same means. The risk that houses and businesses be flooded is very high.
Farmers are desperate as thousands of arable land is under water at a time when they are supposed to start sowing and it is not clear when the water will retrieve and the land will be dry again.
