Storm devastates İskeçe plain as farmers assess widespread damage
A powerful overnight storm swept across the İskeçe plain in Western Thrace, leaving extensive damage to farmland, livestock facilities and agricultural infrastructure, with local producers now assessing heavy losses.
The severe weather struck the region during the early hours of Tuesday after conditions rapidly deteriorated late Monday night. Intense lightning, torrential rainfall and strong winds battered the area for several hours, particularly affecting villages across the plain.
At first light, farmers in villages including İnanlı and Nohullu, as well as other settlements within Topiros Municipality, discovered significant damage to crops, barns, storage facilities and agricultural land. Local reports indicate that farmland suffered the greatest impact, with crop losses reported alongside damage to agricultural structures. Nearby areas were also affected by the storm.
According to Greek Civil Protection authorities, the weather system brought heavy rainfall, severe thunderstorms, frequent lightning and hail to northern Greece on Wednesday. The European Storm Forecast Experiment (ESTOFEX) had identified highly favorable atmospheric conditions over the Balkans, citing convective available potential energy (CAPE) of up to 2,000 J/kg, wind shear exceeding 20 m/s and the passage of a cold front as factors conducive to the development of intense thunderstorms.
Speaking to Millet, Sunay Hüseyinoğlu, Deputy Mayor of İnhanlı Municipality, said officials from the Ministry of Rural Development and Food were conducting on-site damage assessments. He urged affected producers to report their losses to the relevant authorities in order to begin the compensation process.
Hüseyinoğlu added that numerous trees had been uprooted and agricultural land had sustained significant damage in several villages under the municipality's jurisdiction. He said local authorities had been in contact with ministry officials, who pledged to take the necessary steps to compensate affected producers.
