A village in Greece that was submerged due to dam construction has reappeared. Recent record heat and drought over the past few months have caused water levels to drop, revealing the village for the first time in decades.
According to the BBC, Greece built the Mornos Dam about 200 kilometers (124 miles) west of Athens in the 1970s to supply water to the capital.
After the residents left, the dam transformed the village of Kallio into an artificial reservoir. Although the inhabitants had departed, the buildings that were no longer in use were submerged beneath the reservoir.
However, a prolonged heatwave and drought have caused parts of the village to resurface in recent months. Yorgos Iosifidis, a former Kallio resident who moved to higher ground due to the dam, told AFP, “The ground floor of my father-in-law’s two-story house is now visible, and I can also see my cousin’s house.”
Greece recorded its hottest June and July this year. Due to the extreme heat, the Mornos Dam’s water level has decreased by 30% compared to the same period last year, according to EYDAP, the state-owned water utility.
Yorgos Iosifidis, a 60-year-old pensioner who lived in Kallio as a young man, expressed his concerns, stating, “This is a nightmare. As the water level drops, the submerged buildings are starting to reappear. If it doesn’t rain this winter, the situation will worsen significantly.” Kostas Koutsoumbas, the village’s vice-mayor, also voiced his worries: “This year, the water level has dropped by 40 meters (131 feet). We haven’t seen anything like it since 1993.”
In response, Greek authorities have urged residents of the Attica region, which surrounds Athens and is home to one-third of Greece’s population, to conserve water. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also emphasized, “Given that we are certain water levels will continue to decline, we must protect our water resources more systematically than ever before.”
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