Athens flooded after torrential rainfall and thunderstorm

Several hours of torrential rain and a thunderstorm have left the Greek capital, Athens, under water.  Roads and homes are flooded, and there are traffic jams and disruption to the train and tram network.

   

Basements have been flooded by the deluge and authorities have been forced to close a central subway station and underpasses on Friday morning.

According to the fire department, they have received at least 600 calls to drain water from homes and businesses, while many of the city's streets are at least ankle-deep in water.

Sotiris Georgakopoulos told NET state TV that,  "It was one of the worst thunderstorms we have ever had in the greater Athens area [since 1961]." 



He said that at one point the rainfall was so intense and heavy, parked cars were swept away by the rising waters.

According to a senior traffic police officer,  Dimitris Papanagiotou, "There are cars immobilised on several Athens highways and we have dispatched tow trucks to clear the roads."
 
Parts of the city reportedly experienced short power cuts as key electricity substations were flooded.

Fortunately no injuries have been reported and fire chiefs have around 60 crews tackling the floods throughout Friday and they hope the water will recede.  The Greek National Weather Service estimates that the adverse weather phenomenon will gradually recede by Saturday.

Video: Greece’s uncertain future — a short documentary

A short, 10-minute documentary, compiled by Brandon Jourdan and Marianne Maeckelbergh, introduces us to the current social crisis in Greece.

After six years of recession, the situation in Greece is looking increasingly dark. With widespread misery from austerity measures and budget cuts, unemployment and lowering of wages, contributing to the rise of a fascist party in Greece. 

Jourdan and Maeckelbergh have compiled this short and informative documentary, showing scenes of the situation in Athens, and also interviewing many people on the state of the country, which has descended into an increasingly unpredictable situation. 

The video discusses how Golden Dawn is infiltrating the police and gradually taking over the country, how people are trying to make things work by a system of barter and exchange, and how the people of Greece are trying to fight the fascist influences in their country. 

As there is no way to embed a Vimeo video here, please visit the following to view the documentary:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/336097

No news from Greece as journalists rally prior to general strike

A news blackout was experienced on Wednesday as journalists walked off the job for 24 hours, just one day before the general strike in Greece. 

There were no newspapers, the TV and radio stations halted news broadcasts, as hundreds of journalists, technicians and staff from television and radio stations and daily newspapers rallied with other professionals in the center of Athens on Wednesday. 

The journalists carried anti-austerity banners and slogans saying, for example, “We want jobs, no more unemployment. We can’t live on starvation wages in the 21st century.” At the same time, lawyers, pharmacists and doctors staged a similar peaceful protest in front of the Finance Ministry in Athens. 

Professionals were saying that these protests are a rehearsal for the second nationwide strike to be held on Thursday, which has been organized by the country’s two major trade unions.

"We are sinking in a swamp of recession and it's getting worse," said Dimitris Asimakopoulos, head of the GSEVEE small business and industry association. "180,000 businesses are on the brink and 70,000 of them are expected to close in the next few months."

“Young scientists in Greece are being forced to emigrate in order to survive, as here they are taxed 35 percent on the first cent they earn and they’re unable to find a job anyway,” said George Patoulis, President of the Athens Medical Association. 

Konstantinos Balomenos, a 58-year-old worker at a water utility whose wage has been halved to 900 euros and who also has two unemployed sons, spoke to Reuters, "Enough is enough. They've dug our graves, shoved us in and we are waiting for the priest to read the last words." "This austerity is making all of Europe's south rebel, the euro will be destroyed. We are asked to pay for what our politicians have embezzled."  

This strike comes amid tense negotiations between Greece and international lenders on the 13.5 billion-euro austerity package, which is a condition from the so-called troika (International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Commission). 

According to a senior Greek government official, cited by Reuters, so far “there is an agreement on all issues except labor reforms. We are on the right path." But while officials praise the agreement with international lenders, Greeks continue protests against cuts.  

Another nationwide general strike, will hit Greece on October 18 with public transportation shutting down, and hospitals running with minimal personnel. 

As part of the action, air traffic controllers will also take part for three hours on Thursday morning. Protests against the austerity measures and tax hikes resumed in Greece last month after the country’s coalition government took office in July.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335040

Video: MUTE — The visualization of an economic rape

Yiannis Biliris has created a short documentary which, with very few words, gives a clear picture of the current economic crisis in Greece. The video shows us that Greece's economic rape is turning into a social one. 

Biliris was born in Athens, Greece in May 1980.  At a young age he began experimentation in filming and on graduating, attended a film-editing school. He has worked for several TV stations, editing live news and feature stories. He also collaborated on the Greek public television documentary series "Exandas". He has received three Official Selections, one Honorable Mention in the 2009 International Photography Awards and seven of his photographs made it to the finals of the Px3 2010 - People’s choice awards. 

Biliris now turns his attention and artistic eye to the crisis in Greece and with very few words, gives a clear indication of the economic and social rape of Greece in "MUTE - The visualization of an economic rape".

Sorry, I can't figure out how to embed the Vimeo video here, but you can view the documentary on this website: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335031