By Nicolas Bard

A decade ago, in 2015, the inhabitants of the village of Sfedyli on the peninsula, Heraklion, were forced to leave their homes to create the Axelimi Dam.

“They sacrificed” as they typically say, for the common good. In fact, the location of the village was within the dam reservoir, and under the filling level.

Work on the barrier had already begun in early 2000, but until the last minute, before flooding their homes, many residents who were stubbornly stayed there, and did not want to leave their country. It was not just a compensation. For them the village was their whole life. There they were born, they grew up, they got married there and there they bid farewell to their loved ones.

Seeing your life sinking in the water is definitely a hard spectacle. Moreover, when the water level falls, the village appears again. All memories come to life in the face of the settlement alone, the inhabitants tear, while many of them visit their half -ruined houses with tears. This is also the case at this time, where the water level in the barrier has fallen dramatically, and while the village once looked half -sled, today it has come to the surface. The water in the barrier covers 31% of the regular reservoir surface and serves more than 300,000 inhabitants daily, while experts argue that, if it does not rain, the quantity reaches for about 35 to 50 days. In fact, you have begun to consider the demolition of some buildings, now that the water has been scarce.

For the past two years, Crete, like many other Greek islands, has been tested by water scarcity, as the average rain has been significantly reduced, especially in the central and eastern part of the island, which causes a chain of problems. Last winter was the warmest in our country’s history, followed by the warmest summer of 2024, with the Voukolies of Chania “hitting” its highest temperature
year, reaching up to 44.5 ° C (June 13 ’24). The minimum rainfall resulted in the began to empty the Axelemis barrier, “awakening” memories of the past, but also raising concerns about the future. Climate change shows her hard face and experts are now looking for alternatives.