Evros: 150,000 Stremmas flooded – Soufli submerged

Authorities in the municipality of Soufli are on heightened alert following the breach of an embankment at the Kornofolia farmland. At the same time, the situation in Pythio, in the municipality of Didymoteicho, remains critical after a sharp rise in the water level of the Evros River.

The collapse of the embankment triggered an uncontrolled influx of water, turning thousands of stremmas of cultivated land into a vast expanse of water.

The damage is estimated to have already affected more than 5,000 stremmas, with farmland submerged and producers seeing the work of an entire year wiped out. The area now resembles a lake, while water levels continue to cause serious concern. Local authorities have moved swiftly to impose strict protective measures, banning all civilian movement within the affected zone to prevent accidents and potential entrapments. The safety of residents remains the top priority, as the development of the phenomenon is still unpredictable.

Soufli Mayor Panagiotis Kalakikos described the situation as yet another harsh trial for the region’s farming community, stressing that the damage is both extensive and recurring. As he noted, producers are facing a severe blow to their income at a time already burdened by previous natural disasters.

According to current estimates, the main volume of water is expected to spread across the entire riverside zone of the municipality, increasing the risk to crops and impacting the local economy as a whole. The coming hours are considered crucial for containing the destruction and beginning recovery efforts.

The breach of the embankment in Kornofolia once again highlights the region’s vulnerability to extreme hydrological phenomena. Beyond the immediate crisis management, there is an urgent need for substantial flood protection works and long-term planning to safeguard the primary sector and ensure the sustainability of the local community.

Evros River at 6.75 meters – 150,000 stremmas under water

The situation in Pythio, Didymoteicho, remains critical following the sharp rise in the Evros River’s water level, which shortly before midnight surpassed the “psychological threshold” of 7 meters, reaching 7.15 meters. Today, the level has receded to 6.75 meters, offering some relative easing, though the danger has not passed.

Floodwaters have inundated the plain and entered the settlement via the ring road running along the edge of the village, reaching the first residential courtyards. Crews from the Regional Authority, the Fire Service, and heavy machinery are operating on site, carrying out interventions that include dumping soil and attempting to seal a manhole through which water is believed to have entered the settlement. So far, no injuries or damage to homes have been reported.

In the Pythio plain, next to the village, the situation is particularly severe. The railway line and railway station have been submerged, as has the local police station. In some areas, water levels are estimated to exceed 2.5 meters, approaching 2.6–2.7 meters, with a notable example being a basketball hoop approximately three meters high that is almost entirely submerged.

According to the Deputy Regional Governor of Evros, around 150,000 stremmas are under water, with the flooded area extending across a large part of the regional unit. From central Evros southwards, in the areas of Tychero and Feres, no river overflows have been recorded so far, although there are localized pools of standing water. Further north, the landscape resembles an expansive “sea” covering the valley, with similar conditions reported on the opposite side of the border in Turkey.