After 30 years: Sunken village rises in Greek drought

The warm summer has unforeseen consequences in Greece. For the first time in over three decades, the village of Kallio lies on dry land.

» Updated: October 07 2024

» Published: September 03 2024

After 30 years: Sunken village rises in Greek drought
Photo: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/TT

Record temperatures and prolonged drought have caused a Greek village that was previously underwater to re-emerge.

The small village of Kallio – over 20 miles northwest of Athens – was flooded in the late 1970s, when the large Mornos Dam was built. Nearly 80 houses, as well as a church and a school, were sacrificed to provide the capital area with water, says Kallio's village president Apostolis Gerodimos to the state news agency ANA.

However, the recent months' drought has caused the water level in the artificial lake to decrease significantly.

The Mornos Lake level has dropped 40 meters, says 60-year-old Yorgos Iosifidis, who was forced to leave Kallio when the area was flooded in his younger days.

The ruins of a school and several houses now line the dam.

You can see the first floor of the remains of my father-in-law's two-story house. Next to it, you can see what's left of my cousin's house, says Iosifidis.

The summer drought has hit Greece hard. July was the hottest month ever recorded, and June was not far behind.

The authorities have urged 3.7 million residents in the capital area to conserve water.

We don't have the luxury of being able to waste water at a time when we know for certain that we will get less and less water, said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday.

Greece uses 85 percent of its water for irrigation and needs to build more dams, according to Mitsotakis.

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By TTThis article has been altered and translated by Sweden Herald

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