Geotechnical and Structural Damage to the Built Environment of Thessaly Region, Greece, Caused by the 2023 Storm Daniel
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Thessaly Region in Central Greece
3. Storm Daniel and Subsequent Flooding Phenomena
4. Damage to the Built Environment
4.1. Overview and Interactive Map
- the 4-day total precipitation data for the stations presented in Table 1;
- the major flooded areas, as approximated from satellite images on 10 September 2023;
- the rivers and streams mentioned throughout Section 4;
- the buildings mentioned in Section 4.2;
- the road bridges mentioned in Section 4.4;
- the historical bridges mentioned in Section 4.4;
- the pedestrian bridges mentioned in Section 4.4;
- some representative landslides described in Section 4.5.
4.2. Damage to Buildings
4.2.1. Overview of the Effects of Flooding on Buildings
4.2.2. Structural Damage to Buildings
- Partial or total collapses of buildings with load-bearing masonry walls made of brick, adobe or natural stone.
- Settlement and/or rotation of reinforced concrete buildings at their foundation level due to the significant erosion (scouring) of the underlying soil beneath the foundation. In most cases, the buildings were rotated at their foundations as rigid bodies.
- The first case was the partial collapse of a two-storey elderly care house located in the city of Volos, which was built next to Krafsidonas stream. Figure 10a shows part of the collapsed building (highlighted in a circle in Figure 10a), with the remaining debris sitting at the bottom of the formed stream. A truck can also be observed next to the debris.
- The second case (Figure 10b) refers to a two-storey house located in the village of Chorto, on the southeast side of Mt. Pelion. This house was built at the edge of a small river’s mouth, and as a result of the scouring phenomena at the foundation level, the house experienced partial settlement, leading to permanent, non-reversible deformations.
- Similarly, the third case (Figure 10c) refers to a three-storey residential building experiencing excessive differential settlement of the foundation. The location of this building was at the southern edge of Mt. Pelion, in Platania village.
- The fourth case, shown in Figure 10d, was a two-storey building with one basement which totally collapsed as a solid body. This collapse was again the result of the severe forces developed as a result of the flooded river next to it (Pamisos River). The extreme discharge in the river and its high-speed flow caused gradual degradation of the naturally formed soil embankments. Thus, in order to accommodate the extreme flow demands, the width of the river increased from 120.0 m to 220.0 m, as shown in Figure 11 (the collapsed structure has been marked with a circle). This building was located in Mouzaki town, which is on the west side of Thessaly Region, close to the city of Karditsa, approximately 120 km in a straight line from Mt. Pelion.
- Finally, the fifth case refers to a part of a residential building in the village of Chania on Mt. Pelion. Part of the basement of the building collapsed due to ground erosion beneath its foundation caused by water flowing with high speed in a nearby stream that crosses the village (Figure 12).
4.3. Damage to the Road Network
4.4. Damage to Bridges
4.4.1. Road Bridges
- Scour at the foundations of the piers, which led to settlements and/or rotations of the piers and, subsequently, movements of the deck or even partial collapses of the deck.
- Scour at the area around an abutment of the bridge, mainly in the form of breaching of the approach embankment. In some cases, the extent of this damage was so severe that it led to the abutment’s collapse, which in turn triggered the collapse of the supported deck section.
- Structural damage to the wing walls of the abutments of bridges due to soil erosion or scouring at the foundation level of such elements.
- Structural damage to the decks of bridges due to the accumulation of debris or due to impact from heavy rock blocks that were moving together with the extreme flow of major streams during the storm.
Scouring Phenomena at the Foundation of Bridge Piers
Scouring Phenomena at the Foundation of Bridge Abutments
Structural Damage on Bridge Decks from Rock Impacts
Damage to the Wing Walls of Bridges
4.4.2. Historical Bridges
4.4.3. Pedestrian Bridges
4.5. Landslides and Soil Erosion
4.6. Damage to Public Buildings, Technical Works, Other Infrastructure and Lifelines
4.6.1. Public Buildings and Technical Works
4.6.2. Railway Network
4.6.3. Other Infrastructure and Lifelines
5. Discussion and Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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Station | Latitude | Longitude | Altitude (m) | Owner | Rainfall Values (mm) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4-September | 5-September | 6-September | 7-September | Total | |||||
Agia | 39.71615° N | 22.76201° E | 200 | NOA | 11.2 | 218.6 | 15.4 | 90.6 | 335.8 |
Anilio | 39.74861° N | 21.22750° E | 1660 | NOA | 20.6 | 148.2 | 374.6 | 149.2 | 692.6 |
Chalki | 39.57083° N | 22.54333° E | 75 | NOA | 25.2 | 180.8 | 68.8 | 30.4 | 305.2 |
Dasochori | 39.88206° N | 21.81642° E | 737 | NOA | 13.8 | 98.6 | 46.4 | 23 | 181.8 |
Dendra Tyrnavou | 39.65473° N | 22.34883° E | 75 | NOA | 19.2 | 86.4 | 64.8 | 22.8 | 193.2 |
Deskati | 39.91978° N | 21.81449° E | 769 | NOA | 10.4 | 96 | 50.6 | 25.6 | 182.6 |
Domokos | 39.12756° N | 22.30020° E | 570 | NOA | 40.4 | 110 | 225.2 | 6.4 | 382 |
Elassona | 39.89276° N | 22.18080° E | 282 | NOA | 26.4 | 72.2 | 19.6 | 40.8 | 159 |
Gonnoi | 39.86334° N | 22.46961° E | 111 | NOA | 14 | 147.4 | 31.4 | 71.2 | 264 |
Kalampaka | 39.70899° N | 21.62846° E | 238 | NOA | 10.8 | 94.2 | 165.8 | 85.2 | 356 |
Karditsa City | 39.36068° N | 21.92146° E | 121 | NOA | 42.4 | 185.2 | 404.4 | 26.8 | 658.8 |
Kofoi | 39.10177° N | 22.72136° E | 500 | NOA | 23.4 | 152.6 | 342.2 | 32.2 | 550.4 |
Makrinitsa | 39.40535° N | 22.98778° E | 850 | NOA | 125.2 | 757.4 | 273.6 | 79.2 | 1235.4 |
Metsovo | 39.77162° N | 21.17698° E | 1240 | NOA | 20.2 | 91.8 | 204 | 75.8 | 391.8 |
Mouzaki | 39.43115° N | 21.66175° E | 175 | NOA | 23.8 | 163.8 | 321.8 | 89 | 598.4 |
Neraida | 39.28461° N | 22.55137° E | 243 | NOA | 19.6 | 226.6 | 91.2 | 23.8 | 361.2 |
Nessonas | 39.72740° N | 22.53894° E | 92 | NOA | 11.6 | 78 | 3.6 | 71.6 | 164.8 |
Pezoula | 39.30528° N | 21.69389° E | 891 | NOA | 43.2 | 250 | 378.4 | 90.8 | 762.4 |
Platanoulia | 39.68859° N | 22.31356° E | 83 | NOA | 18.6 | 75.4 | 91.2 | 25.4 | 210.6 |
Portaria | 39.38787° N | 22.99514° E | 600 | NOA | 105.4 | 764.7 | 14.4 | 0 | 884.5 |
Smokovo | 39.11682° N | 22.16667° E | 444 | NOA | 40.2 | 97 | 89.4 | 14 | 240.6 |
Trikala | 39.55857° N | 21.76247° E | 163 | NOA | 17.6 | 116.6 | 256.8 | 86.4 | 477.4 |
Vamvakou | 39.33584° N | 22.41447° E | 148 | NOA | 19.4 | 191.4 | 129.8 | 29 | 369.6 |
Volos | 39.37447° N | 22.99514° E | 52 | NOA | 35.2 | 450.8 | 121 | 10.4 | 617.4 |
Zagora | 39.44820° N | 23.10069° E | 505 | NOA | 134.6 | 759.6 | 3.8 | 197.6 | 1095.6 |
Station | T (Years) for: | Station | T (Years) for: | Station | T (Years) for: | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 h | 48 h | 72 h | 24 h | 48 h | 72 h | 24 h | 48 h | 72 h | |||
Agia | 55 | 24 | 23 | Georganades | 503 | 880 | 880 | Pezoula | 1794 | 1939 | 1279 |
Anilio | 5043 | 5790 | 3944 | Gonnoi | 25 | 20 | 24 | Platanioula | 16 | 42 | 48 |
Chalki | 361 | 417 | 401 | Kalampaka | 113 | 256 | 230 | Skopia | 9 | 7 | 10 |
Dasochori | 13 | 13 | 12 | Karditsa City | 6354 | 6878 | 5816 | Smokovo | 15 | 41 | 40 |
Dendra Tyrnavou | 16 | 35 | 42 | Makrinitsa | 6290 | 3724 | 2232 | Trikala | 1365 | 2448 | 2231 |
Deskati | 11 | 11 | 10 | Mouzaki | 307 | 442 | 365 | Vamvakou | 270 | 410 | 380 |
Domokos | 340 | 284 | 230 | Neraida | 463 | 374 | 278 | Volos | 1737 | 1497 | 1143 |
Elassona | 6 | 6 | 8 | Nessonas | 9 | 6 | 11 | ||||
Filiadona | 32 | 33 | 28 | Pertouli | 1904 | 1276 | 720 |
Region | Total Buildings | Total Inspections | Affected Buildings | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Affected | Not Affected | Residential Buildings | Business Premises | Public Buildings | Barns, Warehouses | ||
Magnesia | 2718 | 2627 | 91 | 1921 | 123 | 14 | 569 |
Karditsa | 3736 | 3449 | 253 | 2513 | 24 | 18 | 894 |
Larissa | 3122 | 3097 | 25 | 2035 | 70 | 47 | 945 |
Trikala | 3095 | 3062 | 32 | 2510 | 61 | 14 | 477 |
Regional Unit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Larisa | Magnesia | Trikala | Karditsa | Fthiotida | |
Length of road network with reported damage (in km) | 11 | 13.3 | 11.7 | 22.3 | 11.9 |
Number of damaged bridges (main bridges) | 5 | 14 | 35 | 21 | 4 |
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Tsinidis, G.; Koutas, L. Geotechnical and Structural Damage to the Built Environment of Thessaly Region, Greece, Caused by the 2023 Storm Daniel. Geotechnics 2025, 5, 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/geotechnics5010016
Tsinidis G, Koutas L. Geotechnical and Structural Damage to the Built Environment of Thessaly Region, Greece, Caused by the 2023 Storm Daniel. Geotechnics. 2025; 5(1):16. https://doi.org/10.3390/geotechnics5010016
Chicago/Turabian StyleTsinidis, Grigorios, and Lampros Koutas. 2025. "Geotechnical and Structural Damage to the Built Environment of Thessaly Region, Greece, Caused by the 2023 Storm Daniel" Geotechnics 5, no. 1: 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/geotechnics5010016
APA StyleTsinidis, G., & Koutas, L. (2025). Geotechnical and Structural Damage to the Built Environment of Thessaly Region, Greece, Caused by the 2023 Storm Daniel. Geotechnics, 5(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/geotechnics5010016