Eastern Macedonia and Thrace holds winter preparedness meeting for 2025–2026
The Regional Operational Coordination Body for Civil Protection (PESOPP) convened on Friday in Gümülcine to finalize preparations for the winter season of 2025–2026, placing strong emphasis on snow removal, operational readiness and safeguarding critical road networks.
The meeting was held at the “G. Pavlidis” hall of the hodope Regional Unit and chaired by the Regional Governor of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (EMT), Christodoulos Topsidis, with the participation of all relevant authorities and agencies.
The primary objective of the session was to ensure maximum preparedness and coordination in addressing snowfall and frost phenomena across the region, which includes mountainous and remote areas particularly vulnerable to severe winter conditions.
Governor Topsidis stressed the importance of readiness and cooperation among all stakeholders, noting that citizens expect authorities to be fully prepared when adverse weather strikes. He highlighted the diverse winter challenges faced across the region, from the mountainous communities of hodope and Drama to Meriç, İskeçe and Kavala.
“Our priority is clear: no area should be cut off and no movement should be put at risk,” Topsidis said. “Access roads to hospitals, health centers, critical infrastructure and remote areas will be cleared first, because people need to reach medical treatments, dialysis units and emergency services.”
He also emphasized that citizens are not concerned with which authority is responsible for each road segment, but rather that the entire route remains open. For this reason, he called for seamless coordination among all services, without gaps in responsibility or response.
During the meeting, participants reviewed in detail the operational plan for winter road maintenance, the prioritization of key transport corridors, and contingency plans for power outages in cooperation with the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (DEDDIE). Measures to strengthen cooperation between the Region and municipalities were also discussed, aiming to establish a unified and effective snow-clearing mechanism.
The Region’s full alignment with the national civil protection operational plan “BOREAS 2” was also presented. Actions already implemented include updated contact lists of responsible agencies, equipment inspections, adequate salt reserves, designation of road supervisors per axis, and the renewal of the Contractors’ Registry to ensure rapid reinforcement when needed.
The meeting was convened following an invitation by the Head of the Autonomous Directorate of Civil Protection of AMTH, Konstantinos Chouvardas. Attendees included the Deputy Regional Governors of Rodopi and Xanthi, the Deputy Regional Governor for Administrative Services and Human Resources, as well as representatives from the Fire Service, Hellenic Police, the IV Army Corps, the Regional Directorate of Education, technical and forestry departments, civil protection units, and volunteer organizations.
The overarching goal, officials reiterated, is to ensure uninterrupted access, public safety and effective crisis management throughout the winter months.
