'Total destruction': Greek farmer endures fire, floods

STORY: The devastation from recent natural disasters in central Greece was clearly visible outside the home of Vassilis Tsiamitas and his family in the village of Sesklo.

After two rainstorms in September, a bridge across this stream was destroyed and water supply lines were uprooted. The family car was swept away too.

But Tsiamitas, who is a farmer and businessman, said that's only part of what his family has endured, as the area also experienced a wildfire in July that scorched their almond grove.

"There is nothing else that can happen to me. That is, my fields were burned, my house almost burned down, two shops - the two businesses that I own were flooded, my house has flooded, I'm a flood victim, I don't have a car. What else can I say, there is nothing else."

The storms killed at least 16 people and turned the area into an inland sea, destroying homes, farms, and wiping out swathes of crops. Vassilis and the rest of his family were trapped in the house for 24 hours but were not hurt.

Their crops including these almond trees had already been decimated by the fire two months earlier that burned for two days. It occurred during a summer when Greece had its longest heat wave in 30 years.

“The weather conditions were so bad, the wind, there was no humidity that day, the fire was moving fast. There was not enough time to do anything.”

Tsiamitas said the trees need to be uprooted and new ones to be planted. It will take them five years to produce a crop.

It is becoming a part of life here as fierce storms and floods have become more frequent in recent years making Greece a climate change hotspot.