During the last 10 years, the Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development of the National Observatory of Athens has developed and operates a network of automated weather stations across Greece. The motivation behind the network development is the monitoring of weather conditions in Greece with the aim to support not only the research needs (weather monitoring and analysis, weather forecast skill evaluation) but also the needs of various communities of the production sector (agriculture, constructions, leisure and tourism, etc.). By the end of 2016, 335 weather stations are in operation, providing real‐time data at 10‐min intervals. This paper provides information about the logistics of this network, including real‐time applications of the collected data as well as information on the quality control protocols, the construction of the station data and metadata repository and the means through which the data are made available to users.

Abstract. This paper introduces the development of a database of high-impact weather events that occurred in Greece since 2001. The selected events are related to the occurrence of floods, flash floods, hail, snow/frost, tornados, windstorms, heat waves and lightning with adverse consequences (excluding those related to agriculture). The database includes, among others, the geographical distribution of the recorded events, relevant meteorological data, a brief description of the induced impacts and references in the press. This paper further offers an extensive analysis of the temporal and spatial distribution of high-impact weather events for the period 2001–2011, taking into account the intensity of weather conditions and the consequent impact on the society. Analysis of the monthly distribution of high-impact weather events showed that they are more frequent during October and November. More than 80 people lost their lives, half of which due to flash floods. In what concerns the spatial distribution of high-impact weather events, among the 51 prefectures of the country, Attica, Thessaloniki, Elia and Halkidiki were the most frequently affected areas, mainly by flash floods. Significant was also the share of tornados in Elia, of windstorms in Attica, of lightning and hail events in Halkidiki and of snow/frost events in Thessaloniki.

In the Mediterranean environment, floods pose a significant threat to people, in spite of the noteworthy improvements in forecasting, emergency management, and defensive works. This paper examines flood mortality in the Mediterranean environment based on a 36-year long database that was built in five study areas using documentary sources. Information on fatal accidents was disaggregated in database fields describing victim's profile and the circumstances of the accidents. Data show an increasing trend of flood fatalities during the study period. Accidents mainly occurred outdoor: the majority of the 458 fatalities were males, mainly aged between 30 and 49 years, and residents in the area of the accident. In the majority of cases, people were dragged by water/mud when travelling by car. Some cases of hazardous behaviours, such as fording rivers or trying to save belongings, were also detected. The cause of death was drowning in the majority of cases, and heart attack in a few cases it was. The results of the research can be proficiently used in information campaigns aiming to increase people safety during future floods.

Abstract. The paper examines the flash flood events that occurred over a decade in the Attica prefecture, the most urbanized region of Greece, with the aim of identifying triggering rainfall thresholds, as well as assessing the effect of rainfall upon the magnitude of the induced damages. The analysis incorporates rainfall records from a network of 28 surface meteorological stations and information on the spatial distribution of the flash flood events that is derived from the active database of damaging weather events maintained by the atmospheric modelling group of the National Observatory of Athens. The main findings concern firstly the relation between the flash flood impact, as measured by the fire service operations in flooded properties, and precipitation in various time intervals. In the period 2005-2014, 48 damaging flash flood events occurred in the target area and caused more than 3500 fire service operations in flooded properties. Most of the events are associated with maximum accumulated rainfall of more than 20 mm in 24 h and 3 mm in 10 min. However, the flash flood impact intensity, as measured by the number of the fire service operations per event, increases significantly above the levels of 60 mm in 24 h and 10 mm in 10 min. Secondly, graphs of rainfall intensity versus duration are developed for 15 sub-areas of Attica in order to define rainfall intensity thresholds for flood triggering at a more local level. It is shown that conclusions regarding the reliability of the estimated thresholds should take into account the representativity of the rain gauges, which is determined by the local network's density, the gauges' location and record length.

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Floods are still a significant threat to people, despite of the considerable developments in forecasting, management, defensive, and rescue works. In the near future, climate and societal changes as both urbanization of flood prone areas and individual dangerous behaviors could increase flood fatalities. This paper analyzes flood mortality in eight countries using a 39-year database (1980–2018) named EUFF (EUropean Flood Fatalities), which was built using documentary sources. The narratives of fatalities were investigated and standardized in the database reporting the details of the events. The entire dataset shows a stable trend on flood fatalities, despite the existence of individual increasing (Greece, Italy, and South France) and decreasing (Turkey and Catalonia) trends. The 2466 fatalities were mainly males, aged between 30–49 years and the majority of them happened outdoor. Most often people were dragged by water/mud when travelling by motor vehicles. Some cases of hazardous behaviors, such as fording rivers, were also detected. The primary cause of death was drowning, followed by heart attack. This work contributes to understand the human–flood interaction that caused fatalities. The changes in society’s vulnerability highlighted throughout this study contribute to manage future risks, to improve people protection actions, and to reduce risk behaviors.

Recent events in Western Attica in Greece (24 deaths in November 2017), in the Balearic Islands (13 deaths in October 2018), and in southern France (15 deaths in October 2018) show that flood-related mortality remains a major concern in Mediterranean countries facing flash floods. Over the past several years, many initiatives have arisen to create databases on flood-related mortality. An international initiative started in 2011 pooling regional and national databases on flood mortality from region and/or countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The MEditerranean Flood Fatality Database (MEFF DB) brings together, in 2018, six Mediterranean regions/countries: Catalonia (Spain), Balearic Islands (Spain), Southern France, Calabria (Italy), Greece, and Turkey, and covers the period 1980–2018. MEFF DB is on progress and, every year, new data are included, but for this study, we kept only the preliminary data that were geolocated and validated on 31st of December 2018. This research introduces a new step in the analysis of flood-related mortality and follows the statistical description of the MEFF DB already published. The goals of this paper are to draw the spatial distribution of flood mortality through a geographical information system (GIS) at different spatial scales: country, NUTS 3 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. Level 3) regions, catchment areas, and grid. A fatality rate (F: number of deaths/year/million of inhabitants) is created to help this analysis. Then, we try to relate mortality to basic (human or physical) drivers such as population density, rainfall seasonality, or rainfall frequency across the Mediterranean Basin. The mapping of F shows a negative mortality gradient between the western and the eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea. The south of France appears to be the most affected region. The maps also highlight the seasonality of flood-related deaths with the same west–east gradient. It confirms that flood mortality follows the climatological seasonal patterns across the Mediterranean Basin. Flood-related fatalities mainly occur during the early fall season in the western part of the Mediterranean area, while the Easter Basin is affected later, in November or during the winter season. Eastern Turkey introduces another pattern, as mortality is more severe in summer. Mortality maps are then compared with factors that potentially contribute to the occurrence of flood fatalities, such as precipitation intensity (rainfall hazard), to explain geographical differences in the fatality rate. The density of a fatal event is correlated to the population density and the rainfall frequency. Conversely, the average number of deaths per event depends on other factors such as prevention or crisis management.

Abstract. This study examines the mechanisms of flood-risk precautionary behavior among Greek citizens. To that end, we specify and test a mediation model in which awareness-raising factors and confidence attitudes influence the citizens' current flood preparedness and preparedness intention through perceptual and emotional processes. Raw data were obtained via an online survey that received 1855 responses. Causal relations were tested by means of structural equation modeling (SEM). Overall, results indicate that risk perception and worry are significant drivers of preparedness intention. In particular, they act as mediating variables, explaining how flood experience, access to more risk information, vulnerability awareness, and trust in authorities affect citizens' intention to invest in precautionary measures. Especially trust was found to have a negative effect on worry, leading to lower preparedness levels. Worry was also found to have a significant role in explaining the current preparedness levels. Interestingly, citizens who had already undertaken precautionary measures in the past appear to be more willing to invest in more measures. Implications for improving flood-risk management in Greece are discussed.