The snow storm “Medea,” which left Athens covered in snow Tuesday, passed through the city on Wednesday and is making its way toward Crete.
The winter storm has left over 40,000 homes in Attica, especially in Athens’ suburbs, without electricity for a second day.
After heavy snowfall and strong winds downed trees across the region, Attica’s power grids faced widespread damage.
Unable to fight the frigid temperatures by turning on their heaters, many people across the region, mainly in the northern suburbs of Athens, have faced a chilly blackout lasting for days.
Greece’s power grid operator, the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO), announced that the regions of Dionysos, Anoixi, Ekali, and Agios Stefanos have been particularly affected.
Blackouts to last until Wednesday evening
Nikos Hardalias, Deputy Minister for Civil Protection, stated that the blackouts across Attica are expected to last until Wednesday evening as crews work tirelessly to restore power during the day.
Hardalias noted that HEDNO has led a massive effort to fix damaged power grids and restore electricity as quickly as possible, but faces extraordinary difficulties, since the storm impacted all of Greece:
“I want to make it clear that there has been an enormous effort made by HEDNO’s crews,” he stated.
“This is the first time that we have had a weather phenomenon impact all of Greece, as the snow storm did not just affect Attica.”
“Unprecedented” situation; no storm like it in decades
Anastasios Manos, CEO of HEDNO, highlighted that such a severe snow storm has not been seen in Attica for many years: “HEDNO found itself facing an unprecedented situation, one that has not recurred for decades.”
HEDNO has sent out over 600 teams of 1,500 workers to restore power to Greeks who have been left in the darkness.
In the northern suburbs of Athens alone, there are 400 crew members working on a 24-hour-basis to fix the area’s power grids.
Due to the severity of the situation, Greece’s military has also provided aid in removing downed trees that are blocking major roads and fixing damaged power grids.
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