“The biggest flood that occurred earlier in Trikala was that of 1907. In the afternoon hours of Monday, June 4, it started to get dark due to dark clouds and in a short period of time severe bad weather appeared, which continued throughout the night as a result of which the Litheos River overflowed, especially in the area of ​​Koutsomylia. But also inside the city the waters passed over the central metal bridge and flooded almost the entire city due to another dam, a water mill, that existed near the Slaughterhouses. An arch collapsed from the Pictou bridge. The residents of Trikala were frightened and ran to climb high houses or trees, as well as mainly in the houses of Patikaios, Manyas and Souliotis. Those who took refuge in the latter (48 people) all drowned. In total, the victims of this flood are estimated from two hundred (200) to three hundred (300), while the houses that collapsed were over twelve hundred”.

In this way Doctor of History and president of the Philological, Historical, Literary Association of Trikala Theodoros Nimas describes the biggest flood that hit Western Thessaly at the beginning of the 20th century in a multi-page study published in the latest, 13th volume of the scientific journal “Thessalian Studies”. Flooding phenomena, according to him, were and will be caused when the rainwater is too much and the riverbeds cannot contain it, either due to the shaping of the ground, or due to misguided human interventions that limit them, or failure to clean them of their bed. Already, the ancient geographer Strabo (64 BC-24 AD) mentions that the Pineus was overflowing and its waters were pooling: “For the Pineus, being in the middle of rivers and receiving many rivers, overflows many times; but it used to be flooded, as a reason”.

In the study by T. Nimas, the known major floods in Thessaly are listed chronologically:

1) October 1540. Continuous rainfall for 30 days “suffocated” Damasi Larissa.

2) December 27, 1647. After 24 hours of rain in Trikala and Larissa, the second was flooded where the water reached above the doors of approximately 1500 houses and there were more than 800 dead.

3) 1673. The “mahalas” of Agios Athanasios in Elassona was flooded.

4) 1684. Due to heavy rains, Pinios overflowed and “drowned” half of Larissa.

5) February 8, 1729. Pinios was flooded and there were major disasters in Larissa (districts of Arnaut, Pera and Tabakika), in Trikala, as well as in Moskholouri due to the overflowing of the Onochonou (Sofaditikou) river.

6) February 2, 1777. Due to an overflow of Pinios, Larissa was flooded and “drowned” all the houses of Pera Mahala, all Kalyvia, the area of ​​Agia Marina, the “Olon” Kiosk and two small settlements near it.

7) March 26, 1784, Big Tuesday. It rained a lot in the area of ​​Kalambaka and the rivers flooded.

8) April 17, 1796. “Bad rain” in Meteora.

9) November 1, 1804. According to a recollection in a church book of Flamouli, the Pinios overflowed with the consequence that houses fell and “damaged” the newly sown wheat from the water that overwhelmed them from the height of Megarchi to Flamouli. At that time the inhabitants of Pyrgetos, Agia Moni and Stephanosai (Droserou) crossed the rivers in carts, while the Kalyviotes “built” the “boat”.

10) August 4-5, 1811. Heavy rainfall lasting 40 hours resulted in flooding of torrents in the south of Larissa and affecting its districts.

After these disasters, some anti-flood works (ditches in the south of the city) were carried out in Larissa, to channel the rainwater into the Pinios river. The cost came to the amount of 16,748.10 gros, paid by the Christians.

11) 1826. An overflowing of the Pinios caused a flood, which caused many disasters in Larissa and its surroundings.

12) December 8, 1836. According to a recollection in a church book of the village of Karyes, Trikala, villages of the plain of Trikala were “drowned” by overflowing rivers. Houses were destroyed and many animals drowned (sheep, horses, cows).

13) September 23, 1840. Flooding in the Kalambaka Meteora area.

14) Summer 1842. It rained all summer in the area west of Koziakas.

15) Early 1882. Larissa was flooded by an overflow of the Pinios and great destruction was caused.

16) October 14-15, 1883. Heavy rain lasting 48 hours caused a flood in Larissa with the consequence that 20 people lost their lives, about 300 houses and other infrastructure were destroyed.

On October 20, a “special” correspondent of “Efimeridas” in Larissa sent a detailed description of the floods that hit Larissa mainly but also other cities and villages of Thessaly; it was published on October 26, 1883 with the front page title: “AI IN THESSALIA FLOODS”.

17) During the period between 1883 and 1886 the Litheos river flooded very often due to a dam that existed at the Karamali site and caused destruction in the city of Trikala.

18) November 16, 1901. Great flood in Larissa and overflowing of the Pinios, the waters of which completely covered the first five spans of the great stone arched bridge and flooded large areas in the area of ​​the Alcazar and Pera Mahalas that had turned into islands.

19) June 4-5, 1907. The biggest flood that occurred earlier in Trikala was that of 1907. Detailed description at the beginning of the report.

20) September 1908. A great flood engulfed Larissa again.

21) October 13, 1955. After a big storm, the city of Volos was flooded by the overflowing of the Anavros river, resulting in 27 people losing their lives, because many residents of the city were living in tents due to the strong 6.2 Richter earthquake of April 19 of the same year that destroyed many houses and left about 3,500 people homeless.

22) November 5, 1986. A flood in Zagora Magnesia caused damage to houses.

23) October 21, 1994. A great flood caused destruction in Karditsa, while the village of Metamorfosi was completely submerged in water and mud.

24) October 2006. A great flood hit Volos again. The city looked like an endless lake and N. Magnesia was declared in a state of “emergency”. Volos, Agria and Horto suffered great damage. The city of Volos remained blocked for a long time, because KTEL buses and trains could not move.

25) December 10, 2009. Volos flooded again due to lack of anti-flood works.

26) September 19, 2020. Unprecedented bad weather hit the whole of Thessaly and more so the Prefecture of Karditsis where it caused biblical disasters. The town of Karditsa was overwhelmed by water, while the village of Metamorfosi was completely submerged in the water and mud. Other villages in the area of ​​Palama and Farsalon were also flooded. In Mouzaki, due to the overflowing of the river Pamisos (Bliouri), the Health Center that was built on a flooded part of the river collapsed. In Almyros, the river Xerias flooded and the bridge over it was destroyed.

27) September 6, 2023. A great flood hit the city of Volos and villages of southern Pelion, especially Milina and Platanias. Houses and shops were flooded or destroyed by the overflowing of the river (river) Kravsidonas, many cars were buried in the mud and several were swept into the sea. In particular, the area behind the district of Palia of Volos and the vertical riverside streets of Karabatzakis and Zachos, as well as Byzantiou Street had turned into a vast lake.

28) September 5-7, 2023. Torrential rain for two consecutive days (Tuesday and Wednesday 5-6 Sep.) resulted in flooding of the Pinios River and its tributaries in Western Thessaly. Some anti-flood dams broke and the villages of N. Karditsis located near the confluence of Enipeus and Pineos, namely Palamas, Vlochos, Metamorfosi, Koskinas and Marathea, turned into a vast lake. The same as the neighboring village of Keramidi, as well as the town of Farkadona in N. Trikala. Keramidi and Metamorfosi in particular were buried under water and mud and have become uninhabitable. 11 people drowned in the floods. Villages of Farsala also suffered great damage, while the villages of Megala Kalivia and Agia Kyriaki of Trikala Prefecture were flooded by an overflow of the Pamisos (Bliouri) river which descends from Mouzaki and contributes to Pinios before the Karavoporos bridge on the Trikala – Karditsa road. . Most farmed animals (sheep, pigs, etc.), as well as poultry, drowned, while the fields will not be able to be cultivated for a few years due to the mud and soil contamination.

From the overflowing of the Pinios at the height of Larissa, the district of Giannouli to the left of it was flooded and great disasters were caused. But also many villages south of Larissa, especially in the Parakarlia area, were affected by floods and suffered major damages.

Characteristic of the size of the flood is the unprecedented fact that the Athens-Thessaloniki national highway at the height of Larissas was flooded and the common residence was interrupted. The same thing happened on a section of the Larissa – Trikalon highway. In the villages of the plain of the Prefectures of Karditsis and Trikala, some houses collapsed, while all the rest were almost uninhabited, and their household goods were completely destroyed.

29) In the city of Trikala on the evening of September 6/7, 2023 the Litheos river overflowed in the area of ​​Gourna, below the church of Agios Stefanos, with the consequence that the adjacent streets of Amalia (left) and Kanouta – Kalamata (right) were covered; it also overflowed in the districts of Agios Konstantinos and Koutsomylia. In the districts of Bara, Karamali, Trikki and around Patoulias Street, east of the Trikala Stadium, due to the amount of rainwater and the seepage of the ground, the basements and semi-basements were flooded, destroying all the household structures and any other things that were in ‘ these, while the books kept there were also destroyed. There was a problem with electricity and potable water both in the city of Trikala and in many villages.

30) September 27, 2023. The villages of the Kilelere Municipality of Larissa Prefecture were flooded by another heavy rainfall. These were: The Armenian, from which the inhabitants left in time to avoid drowning. The same thing happened in the village of Sotirio, where the water exceeded one meter. Something similar happened in the village of Niki. The village of Achilleio was endangered by the waters of Lake Karla. In the villages of Namata and Halki, the water passed outside the settlements. The overflowing of the Enipea river caused damage to the villages of Mikro and Megalo Euhydrio, Pyrkakia and Hyperia of Farsala. The crops in the lowland villages of these areas were completely destroyed.

31) On the same days (end of September) a new storm again struck the city of Volos with particular severity, as the river Kravsidon overflowed. Many areas, in addition to damage to houses and other facilities, were left without water and electricity. In Nea Ionia and in the nearby villages of Agria and Alykes, several residents were locked out of their homes or cars. The transport from Volos to Larissa and South Pelion was interrupted.

Speaking to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency, Mr. Theodoros Nimas emphasizes as an epilogue to the above: “The rivers were created by the rains and floods and their waters follow the natural law. Any inappropriate intervention in their course and the removal of part of their bed usually has painful consequences. River overflows and floods happened and will happen. The point is that people learn from them and not repeat the same mistakes”