A database of high-impact weather events in Greece: a descriptive impact analysis for the period 2001–2011

Abstract

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.

Flash flood occurrence and relation to the rainfall hazard in a highly urbanized area

“…In what concerns the frequency and magnitude of damages caused by weather-related hazards, Attica is by far the most affected region in the country (Papagiannaki et al, 2013;Diakakis et al, 2012), suffering particularly from flash floods, which cause at times serious damages. According to the latest report of the Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies (HAIC, 2015), the 13 most damaging flash flood events that occurred in Greece during the period 1993-2014 caused economic losses of about EUR 93 million, most of which correspond to claims for compensations in Attica.…”

“…For the analysis, the database of high-impact weather events developed by the atmospheric modelling group of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) was used (Papagiannaki et al, 2013). The database provides information about all the high-impact weather events that have occurred since 2001 and is systematically updated.…”

Damaging Hydrogeological Events: A Procedure for the Assessment of Severity Levels and an Application to Calabria (Southern Italy)

“…Moreover, the incessant flow of virtual real-time information and the media coverage of an event tend to bias our perception of the intensity of that event and to overestimate the amount of damage caused by recent rather than older events. For example, whereas in the past century it would take 24 h for newspapers-the most frequently used damage data sources [42][43][44][45]-to report an event, technological progress has allowed an extremely rapid relay of information from the site of a disaster. Furthermore, in the past, only major events received media coverage and were therefore reported.…”

Scaling precipitation extremes with temperature in the Mediterranean: past climate assessment and projection in anthropogenic scenarios

“…1), plays a crucial role in steering airflow producing heavy precipitation and catastrophic floods (e.g. Delrieu et al 2005;Jonkman 2005;Ducrocq et al 2008;Papagiannaki et al 2013). In the last 50 years significant increasing trends in daily torrential rains was observed in some western Mediterranean regions, while in the east relatively high interannual variability prevents any trend from being significant (Alpert et al 2002).…”