Many of us wondered what would have happened if the unprecedented heights of water that hit Thessaly had fallen on Attica. How prepared are we for such a phenomenon and what would it leave behind? Would Attica withstand a Daniel-type storm like the one that hit Thessaly? Experts where they spoke on his camera they agree that the consequences would be equally or more devastating. The SKAI research is revealing.

“I assure you, blocks along the stream in all municipalities will definitely be flooded,” states the Director of Research at the National Observatory, Haris Kontoes.

“Unfortunately, there are areas where the construction is tragic”, says the Director of Technical Projects in the Attica Region, Alexandros Kalogeropoulos.

“As a matter of fact, projects alone would not be able to respond to this level of extremes,” notes the Director of Research at the National Observatory.

Catastrophic Flood Scenarios

There are three different scenarios with Kifissos and its tributaries flooding and causing disasters. In the first script affected areas up to the height of Athens Avenue, at second scenario the disasters reach as far as the regions of Nicaea, Kallithea and Taurus. The third and worst case scenario he wants Kephisos to flood everything up to the beach front.

According to the predictive models, if a phenomenon like the one that occurred in Thessaly hits Attica, the Kifisos river bed will overflow and drown the surrounding areas.

“Attica, as a heavily urbanized area where half the population of Greece lives, is in any case facing a great risk,” states the Director of Research at the National Observatory.

According to the risk scenarios, more than 35 square kilometers in 18 municipalities will be covered with water from Kifissos, affecting the life and activity of almost half a million people if a Daniel-type millennium phenomenon occurs in Attica.

“Kifissos may be designed for a 50-year or even 100-year flood in some places, but the stormwater, the stormwater networks in all the cities are designed for a 10- or 15-year flood, so when you have these phenomena before it floods the river will flood the road”, emphasizes the General Secretary of Water at the Ministry of the Environment, Petros Varelidis.

“There are specific sections along Kifissos which are affected and there is also a zone in the lowlands that is also at risk of flooding in the area of ​​Ilissos,” reports Dr. of hydrology at NTUA, Elisavet Feloni,

“The main recipient is Kifissos. And with the flood control projects, what we are doing is taking the water from the surface and channeling it through pipes and wells much faster to the final recipient which is Kifissos. This has the problem that much larger quantities of water arrive simultaneously from everywhere”, notes the Director of Technical Projects, Attica Region, Alexandros Kalogeropoulos.

The anarchic construction and the mixing of streams are a ticking time bomb for the Basin of Attica. It is characteristic that only Kifissos can cause flooding in an area from Kamatero and Fili, to Marousi and Chalandri, but also in the neighborhoods of Athens and Moschetos or in Piraeus and Paleo Faliro.

“We have seen a house that, in order to take advantage of the last centimeter of its plot, has put its pen on the edge of the stream, and the same man, in order to cross the stream to his house, has built a small bridge just enough to keep the his feet when the stream just has a little water, but when the river goes down it will take his house too”, says Mr. Kontoes.

The case of the stream of Picrodafni, which runs through 8 municipalities, is typical. The anti-flood planning started in 2004 and was completed in 2022, i.e. 18 years later. Today, there are built houses on its banks, as revealed by an on-site investigation by SKAI.

“There are streams that have disappeared in the urban fabric and have typically been replaced with one or two cross-section pipes along the way,” highlights Mr. Kalogeropoulos.

Experts warn that because of the climate crisis, past indiscretions may prove fatal.