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gemsofgreece · 8 months

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You really should know about Storm "Daniel"

Unlike how much all of us Greek blogs notify our tumblr communities about the regular (at this point) arsons wildfires afflicting Greece, we did not say much about the floods the country has been suffering from right now. There was a mention here and there and I even made a joke post as the storm was starting but not a lot of stuff in general. So, I think there's a couple of things you should know and I feel like I could address about it and actually it's not just about Greece. So I believe this could interest a lot of people and it should be something known worldwide.

In the beginning of September there was an alarm about an extreme weather phenomenon forming above the Ionian Sea at the west of mainland Greece. In truth, the phenomenon was not caused by the climate change. It was just a very rare occurence where a high pressure atmosheric system was sandwiched between two currents of low pressure. Low pressure systems are the ones resposible for stormy weather while high pressure systems generally create stable weather. As the low currents encircled the high pressure system, the storm that had started forming became unusually stable for a storm. As a result, the storm moved northeast above Thessaly and other regions of the central part of Greece and... just decided to stay there for an indefinite amount of time. Furthermore, because it's September and the Ionian Sea had warmed up throughout the summer, the medicane (Mediterranean cyclone) gained tropical features as it was forming, pushing its intensity to extremes unknown to this area.

The storm remained above all of central Greece for about 4-5 days but at the meantime it was causing side-storms in neighbouring countries, such as Bulgaria and Turkey. Both countries suffered from floods causing damages and deaths.

Istanbul, Turkey (CNN).

Tsarevo, Bulgaria (CNN).

Four people died in Bulgaria and seven in Turkey.

But like I told you the core of this was exactly on top of Greece's central mainland and islands. So what happened there? I happened to experience this shit first hand. My recollection of it is that it was unlike any other storm I had experienced before. My knowledge on meteorology is not very advanced, however I believe due to the high pressure part, there were actually no winds at all - or they were insignificant, so it wasn't like what you might have in mind as a conventional cyclone. It was a rainstorm but it was like a rainstorm from hell. The crucial part is that in Greece summer violent rainstorms may last for about five minutes but certainly not for five days nonstop. There was no pause, not even for a second. It kept pouring and pouring in indescribable volumes, without decreasing or slowing down, not for a moment. The fourth day it started taking short breaks.

As a person with a phobia of lightnings since childhood, I kept wearing earplugs throughout all these days. For four days, ten seconds did not pass without at least one lightning shrieking exactly on top of our heads. In the end, I am dead serious, I think my lifelong phobia has been cured somewhat due to this extreme exposure that eventually had a numbing effect. I think only the first day there was a record of 7,000 lightnings. I believe there must have been dozens of thousands overall. The lightnings also caused fires but the downpour was so overwhelming no fire could ever stand a chance.

Whether during or after the rains, what I was seeing outside was post-apocalyptic. The only thing missing was the zombies. It really looked like a background from a videogame, including a constantly lit up sky. I was not in danger though people dear to me were. The worst for me was a huge fall in the quality of living but that doesn't matter. The rains caused severe destructions across cities and villages. They caused floods, they broke bridges, they broke a massive number of roads, they made walls collapse, they destroyed springs, they damaged water and electricity outlets entirely, they drowned flocks and flocks of animals, they destroyed mountainous and coastal villages alike, they made cars float and fly over each other and they uprooted houses.

Village in Mount Pelion, Greece.

But that's not the end of it. Four days later, the storm moved southwest towards the Ionian sea, basically to the place of its original formation. It side-swept over Athens in the meantime, flooding the city, but that doesn't mean much since I could cry and Athens would still flood with my tears. Anyway. AFTER the storm left, the floods caused by it started multiplying and expanding. Picture that: a crystal clear sky, a bright sun and your phone screaming state alerts about evacuating your village or town because a lake has launched at you! Here's the thing: Thessaly is a massive plain surrounded by a ring of mountains. Half of those downpours fell right on the lowlands causing floods and destructions the first days. The other half however fell on the mountains, filled the streams heading down and they all met up and filled the lakes and the large river of Thessaly, Pineios and they all basically exploded the next days. Pineios especially exploded both in its western and eastern part, sinking the entirety of Thessaly's plains under water. As a result, floods were actively taking place days after the storm had ended and the weather was good. The phenomena have only started subduing since yesterday.

The overflowing of the river, trapped by the mountains.

Farmers won't be able to work this year and next year is questionable as well. There are huge concerns about various epidemics breaking out as more and more dead animals are found in the waters. Entire villages are under the water. There are estimations that some villages in west Thessaly might have been lost forever and their residents will have to move elsewhere. Sixteen people have died from the rainstorm and the floods.

Actual villages in Karditsa, Greece.

A more longterm danger is that the ground received such an unnatural amount of water that it might have been severely eroded and destablised, making it vulnerable to natural disasters I don't want to utter. Many roads are either broken or bloated and Thessaly has been cut out from communication and transportation with the rest of the country. To this day, there are maps guiding people how to drive from North to South Greece and vice versa by entirely skipping Central Greece! (Hint: they will have to drive through Epirus, aka western Greece.) The first days there was also complete isolation from what was happening in the country and the world and also the very regions we were in as we had no electricity and our only chance was getting a call from somebody being elsewhere and telling us what is going on.

Volos, Greece (CNN)

Many regions have received within 2-4 days 55 times their monthly amount of rain or more than twice the yearly amount. Greek meteorologist Christos Zerefos estimated that such a phenomenon occurs every 300-400 years. Meteorologists were alarmed internationally - with Germans and Americans reportedly saying they hadn't studied such a phenomenon again in their career. Its intensity was record high in the history of Greece and right in the top of Europe's as well. They also agreed that such a phenomenon would be devastating even if it had hit the most advanced and prepared country.

BUT THIS IS NOT THE END. The weakened Daniel seemed to slowly move towards South Italy but it decided to take a turn and headed south towards Libya and Egypt. Quite possibly, as the storm was once again travelling across the warm Mediterranean Sea, it was rejuvenated and gained even more tropical traits. Eventually, the medicane hit Libya with unprecedented force.

The cyclone travelling from Greece to Libya.

The toll it took on Libya is unspeakable. As I am writing this,

More than 5,226 people are killed and more than 10,000 are currently missing.

Like, can you wrap your head around what I am talking about? I don't see this shit being acknowledged enough across the world. I am checking this again and again, to ensure I am reading this correctly.

Daniel has officially become the deadliest medicane on record.

Eastern Libya, from Al Jazeera.

In the meantime, Greeks found opportunities to practice their favourite sport: political infighting. People who weren't even here when hell broke loose say that if this or that was properly done, we would not have problems at all. I even saw an idiotic Greek expat comment how "we got drowned in a little bit of rain". The truth is we should bloody thank our lucky stars and I say this with the entire awareness of half of Thessaly being currently underwater. It is true that Greek governments and people have done so many things badly, like building on top of streams and rivers, changing rivers' natural route, drying up natural lakes and all that shit that guarantees you are going to have massive problems once a serious storm breaks out. Also, the disaster revealed that there was once more a very questionable management of all the money given by the EU for anti-flooding measures after a previous flood (Ianos). Of course, I would be happy if at last we viewed this disaster as an opportunity to improve ourselves and the management of our land, however whatever happened these days wasn't the fault of anyone in particular. On the contrary, A LOT worse could have happened. A lot. Maybe Libya is not an indication because if Greece is not used to such extreme rain phenomena, then Libya is probably ten times less used to them, however we should not forget that this monster was STUCK at least five days over the heartland of Greece. For this alone we should damn be thankful we did not get it any worse and that the land endured in any way and of course now we have to correct old mistakes as well but let's do it united and determined and without wasting time once more in pointless infighting, which in this case might even be unfair. (In fact I think the thing we should blame the state the most about was not making it clear beforehand that this was going to be unprecedented, not just "very severe". They probably didn't want to cause panic and mayhem but still. We should know.) Of course I am not talking about how the state will treat the afflicted regions from now on, which is entirely its responsibility. And we should stand next to Libya. Greece has its wounds to mend but it should absolutely provide support to Libya. We know what this freak phenomenon was like.

I know this text is long but please consider reblogging this. We should know what happens on our planet. Thousands of people are dead from a freak phenomenon devastating regions across lands and seas. Also forgive any mistakes I might have made although I believe the information is correct for the most part. I didn't speak more about Libya because I don't know enough to analyze the situation as much. Perhaps there are ways of supporting the country too. As a last note, this phenomenon was not freakish because of the climate change - it was just a very unusual occurence. However, the - otherwise normal - warmth of the sea did feed and intensify the storm and the climate change might in the future cause these super rare, accidental phenomena to become more frequent.

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odinsblog · 8 months

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🗣️Please share!!

For a comprehensive list of fundraisers and donation links for disaster aid to Libya, please go to the following thread:

👉🏿 https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1701287426453385263.html

#libya #disaster relief #hurricane daniel #storm daniel #derna #disaster aid #important #🇱🇾

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riricitaa · 8 months

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please DONATE if you can!!!! Lybia needs our help!!! These are the two links [ ( link 1 ) and ( link 2 ) ] I found the most legitimate, I asked them and they said they are in direct contact with the local authorities and that the money will be transferred directly and they will get the necessary supplies and aids and send them to the disaster zone! Please donate if you can, and share if you can't 🙏🏽 🇱🇾🕊

#current events #libya #libya floods #storm daniel #North Africa

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acerathia · 8 months

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Hello! As some of you may know, Libya is currently suffering due to Storm Daniel flooding, and breaking the dam.

In estimation, 2'000 people are dead while hundreds remain missing. All the people lost their homes, businesses, infrastructure, their livelihood, and much more.

I'm putting the links for donations, even if just means getting these people a chance to dress properly, every dollar counts.

#storm daniel #relief for flood victims #libya emergency appeal

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voidingintotheshout · 8 months

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From Habibi Funk Records:

“We have been shocked by the events this week, both the earthquake in Morocco and the floods in Libya.

In the last two days we spoke to the artists from Libya we work with, checking in that they and their family are OK and to think about wether there is anything we can do to support the rescue efforts. After speaking with Hamid El Shaeri, Ibrahim Hesnawi, Ahmed Ben Ali, and the family of Najib Alhoush, the band leader of The Free Music, we decided to put together a little EP. This release will only be available on bandcamp and for a limited time. 100% of the profits will be donated. We have done a similar release after the port explosion in Beirut which raised nearly 20.000$ for the Red Cross, hopefully we can raise a substantial amount again.

The profits will be split between International Medical Corps (internationalmedicalcorps.org) who have teams in Derna on the ground, the second half will be donated to the Red Cross (www.icrc.org) who also work in Libya both directly and through their partner organization of the Libyan Red Crescent.

If you have any questions happily send us a message. If you want to support the victims of the earthquake in Morocco there is a lot of great initiatives too such as Artists for Morocco (artistsformorocco.com) raising funds by selling prints of some great Moroccan artists.”

Just remember, Habibi Funk records ends up putting out amazing music and super cool tunes. Please throw a couple of bucks so that they can help raise money to help Libya and you end up getting some cool Libyan rock.

#libyan floods #Libya #storm daniel #habibi funk #how to help #Bandcamp #middle Easter music

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gwydionmisha · 8 months

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How to donate to Doctors Without Borders: https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/secure/donate

#Libya #Flooding #Storm Daniel #Disaster #News

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meteorologistaustenlonek · 8 months

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"The Libya flood disaster was driven in part by the meteorological bad luck of Daniel coming ashore directly atop a compact zone of higher elevation. That’s only part of the story, though. Human-induced climate change is loading the dice, enhancing the ability of tropical cyclones and similar storms to produce extreme rain as they draw more water vapor out of oceans into a warming atmosphere."

#Yale Climate Connections #Climate Change #Storm Daniel #Medicane Daniel #Human-induced Climate Change #Climate Crisis #Libyan Flood Disaster #Climate Change in Africa

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undersphere · 7 months

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youtube

Catastrophic Flooding In brooklyn! State Of Emergency In New York floodi. #flashflood #flashflooding #flooding #flood #newyork #newyorkcity #nyc #brooklyn #rain #rainstorm #storm #downpour #streetflooding #brooklynflooding

#news #flooding #extreme weather #natural disasters #floods #storm daniel #libya #Youtube

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agentfascinateur · 7 months

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The duration of the floods following the storm, according to Al-Zayani, is estimated at more than 15 hours, during which these children were either under the rubble of their homes, or were swept away by water to several places, or next to “the bodies of other people, and even the bodies of their family members, as happened in some cases in Derna.” The Libyan psychiatrist explained that “a child’s perception of such a disaster is completely different from that of an adult.”

💔

#children #floods #libya #storm daniel #unicef #humanitarian aid #mental health #reconstruction #victims #extreme weather #trauma #orphans #depression

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riricitaa · 8 months

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I know it's too much lately, but please keep Libya in your thoughts 😭🙏🏽🇱🇾 and if anyone knows where to donate please do share with me, I've been looking for hours and I can't find any 😭 which it is sad ...

#current events #libya #libya floods #storm daniel #North Africa

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warningsine · 7 months

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Residents who survived the devastating flooding in the eastern coastal Libyan city of Derna were faced with the threat of displaced land mines in surrounding areas on Sunday.

Residents said they had to think whether to wade through areas where land mines were displaced by raging torrents that swept away entire families in the wake of this week's floods.

Many had to travel through the areas because they didn't have fresh water in their homes as the flooding contaminated local water sources. On Saturday, a local official reported at least 150 cases of diarrhea.

"Under all circumstances in Derna, it is not allowed to use ordinary drinking water because its contamination percentage is very high," Director of Libya's National Centre for Disease Control Haider al-Sayeh said in a video statement.

Reuters news agency reported that flooding is believed to have affected around a quarter of all buildings in Derna, with at least 891 buildings having been completely destroyed and 398 submerged in mud.

Death toll in the thousands

Rescue efforts are ongoing to search for survivors in the rubble after a devastating storm broke two dams in Derna on Sunday.

The death toll is in the thousands, with aid groups citing different numbers. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said at least 11,300 people had died so far in the floods and over 10,000 were missing in Derna.

Those numbers have been disputed by authorities with the Libyan Red Crescent, and it is not exactly clear how many people lost their lives in the floods, given the scale of destruction and the political situation in the country.

The oil-rich North African nation has been in turmoil since longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was toppled in 2011. The country is divided between rival administrations in the east and west and the administrations have no record of successful cooperation.

A number of countries, including Egypt, Germany, Israel, and Russia, have sent aid, but delivering them has also been hampered given the widespread destruction of roads.

UN agencies have repeatedly pointed to concerns of shortages of basic needs among residents and have warned about the risk of a disease outbreak.

The UN has said that at least 1,000 people have been buried so far. In Derna, bodies wrapped in bags have piled up in the streets as authorities race to bury them.

Most of the deaths could have been avoided if authorities had better warning systems in place, the United Nations' weather agency said earlier this week.

Greek rescue workers killed

Later on Sunday, it was announced that four Greek rescue workers dispatched to Libya following were killed in a road collision Sunday, Tripoli's health minister said.

Rescue workers from Greece, Turkey, Egypt and other countries have flocked to the port city to offer help.

On Sunday, a bus carrying 19 Greek rescue workers had a head on collision with a vehicle carrying five Libyan nationals on the road between the cities of Benghazi and Derna, health minister Othman Abduljaleel said. Three Libyans in the oncoming vehicle were also killed.

Seven of the surviving Greek rescue workers were in a critical condition in the hospital, the minister said.

Investigation into dam burst

Officials have opened an investigation into the collapse of two dams that unleashed a vast torrent of water into Derna.

Minister Osama Hammad, who was appointed by the House of Representatives to lead the investigation, said the probe would be looking into how money earmarked for maintenance of the dams was mishandled.

Questions have also arisen over reports of two cracks in one of the dams that had reportedly been known about since as far back as 1998.

ab, rm, jsi/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

#libya #floods #storm daniel #news

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