In his statement, the member of parliament for Magnesia of SYRIZA, Alexandros Meikopoulos, speaks about the responsibilities of civil protection for the floods in the prefecture, stating that there was insufficient preparation.

The full statement of Alexandros Meikopoulos:

Volos is once again in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. The ongoing storm ‘Daniel’ already has one dead and one missing. I express my deep sorrow for the death of our fellow citizen and hope that we do not mourn other victims.
The road network and the surrounding area of ​​Volos have turned into rivers, streams have broken, houses and shops have been flooded, residents, tourists and drivers have been trapped, while floods are also recorded in a wing of the Hospital of Volos, compounding the paradox in an area with a downward slope that runs through two rivers flowing into the sea.
“All the mechanisms are alert” reassured the Minister of Civil Protection, while the Prime Minister asks citizens to obey the instructions of civil protection. A Civil Protection whose leadership just three days ago sent an urgent letter asking the regions and municipalities to take the obvious preventive measures for flood phenomena, even though we have known for a long time both the time when the bad weather will occur and the severity and its extent. Today they point the finger at the “irresponsible” Voliotians who went to work because the competent Ministries of Development and Civil Protection did not take care to protect the workers in view of the intense weather phenomena by issuing a relevant decision. Citizens returned in droves after the curfew was ordered.
We will hear again about the uniqueness of the phenomenon and the climate crisis. The question remains, however, what has been done to prevent and limit the effects of such bad weather. What is certain is that we cannot talk about preparation and readiness, when issues of prevention are raised just before the development of the phenomenon.
The images of Volos, N. Ionia, Neapolis, Agria, Skiathos, Milina, Ag. Ioannis Peliou and many areas of Magnesia, today are raising serious questions about whether the stream cleaning works were finally carried out and whether the rainwater wells were cleaned in view of the bad weather, while there are also strong concerns about the flood protection projects that are presented in press releases on the agenda and announcements, but today they were non-existent. Probably, the anti-flood and anti-fire projects do not win elections because unfortunately they “shine only by their absence”.
Indicative of the lack of coordination is the absence of provision of safe areas for passing drivers with a typical example of dozens of drivers who were moving towards Volos and were directed, following instructions from the Police, to the KTEL Almyros area, which was however closed due to bad weather.
There are heavy political responsibilities for the fact that today Magnesia is drowned by water and mud. Responsibilities of Civil Protection, the Region and the Municipality, which we hope will not be exhausted this time in “operational failures”.
In an area that was burned and is now drowning, the day is in no way suitable for communication shows with shouts and reproaches to the citizens who are being tested again.