In September, a small farming village in Greece was flooded by Storm Daniel. Now the residents have decided to move the entire community to a neighboring village, hoping that they will not be affected by floods again. The name of the town is Metamorphosi, which means “transformation” in Greek. And perhaps his fate depends on his name. As the COP28 climate talks, attended by scores of fossil fuel lobbyists, continue in Dubai, this community’s story shows how far the consequences of climate change can go. One step away from our house.
Storm
Residents of the small Greek farming village of Metamorphosi voted in September to relocate their entire flood-inundated community elsewhere, in a bid to protect themselves from future disasters caused by climate change. Metamorphosi was first flooded in 1953 and then in 1994, but storm Daniel nearly destroyed it with its unexpected water load. Between 4 and 7 September, heavy rains ravaged the entire Mediterranean, especially the Thessaly region. Within a few hours, the flood submerged many villages in the valley, including villages around Palamas, Volos, Trikala and Larissa. The footage showed a kind of “inland sea” trapping hundreds of people in their homes. Sixteen people died in those days, two of whom drowned in Metamorphosi. From that moment on, the village with a population of just over a hundred seems to have turned into a ghost place.
Citizens who will vote
Already in November, residents said they felt they had no choice: they had to move to a safer place. The proposal was put to a vote and passed with 14 votes against from 142 residents. The project plans to build new homes in the nearby village of Palamas, about 8 km away. According to Petros Kontogiannis, president of the Metamorphosi community, the vote took place unofficially in the form of a legal declaration. However, approximately 15 people abstained. “The vote shows that people cannot bear to go through this situation again,” Kontogiannis told Reuters. “There is hope that we will have homes that will ensure our safety.”
land available
Palamas municipal authorities officially approved the plan on Tuesday, December 5, assuring that they will make the land available. One more step left until the transfer. The proposal will also need to be approved by the government, and residents have also submitted a technical study citing “repeated flooding” and the geomorphology of Metamorphosis as reasons for the move. “Personally, I am completely open to it,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a speech to parliament last month. Mitsotakis concluded: “Let’s build a new Metamorphosis, a new village of contemporary standards, and this village will now be safe from floods, so that these people do not drown every 30 years.”
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Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
