Relaxed, convinced that they live in a country with a permanent summer, with a “superhero” feeling, but also with a lack of basic knowledge: data on the weather-defying Greek profile shows that we have room for improvement.

He opened the discussion on this issue death of 26-year-old British tourist two days ago in Rhodes lightning while playing in the sea in the pouring rain. Something similar happened last August when a 55-year-old Greek amateur mountaineer died from a lightning strike while climbing Mount Falakro.

In general, according to him Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development Eobservatory of mortals in Athens, From 2001 to the present, there have been 44 deaths from lightning strikes – 37 men and only seven women – almost two per year.. OUR Katerina Papayannakiresearcher at the aforementioned institute, explains how lightning strikes specific groups of citizens who are exposed to rain: farmers, athletes, tourists.

Men are afraid of rain and floods

Behavioral studies conducted by the National Observatory of Athens on the feeling of danger that citizens experience in relation to weather events reveal no less interesting facts. In particular, a study conducted in 2019 on It can be seen from the behavior of flood victims that a very large percentage of them tried to cross the stream in their vehicle, putting their lives in danger..

According to the same study, over the past 40 years in Greece, 75 out of 160 flood victims, i.e. 47%, died in this way, either as drivers or as passengers..

In another study, the Institute’s researchers examined the factors that influence a driver’s decision to enter a flooded stream. The questionnaire was in the form of an experiment and 1940 participants were asked to observe a picture of a driver in front of a flooded creek. The differences between them concerned the depth of the water. The main conclusions of the study were as follows: the driver decides to enter the flooded stream, first of all, because he himself approves of this act, secondly, because he believes that he is in control of the situation, and thirdly, because he believes that his environment also approves this is the solution.

Somehow, the profile of a fearless driver appeared, preparing to cross the spilled stream. Ms. Papagiannaki gives the description: “He is a man under 50, in good physical condition, and because he is close to his destination, he thinks he has the opportunity to do so. Women, on the other hand, in behavioral research seem to be more worried about the consequences of risky decisions and afraid to take risks.”

Not knowing the emergency number

“We don’t have a special weather protection culture in our country,” notes Mr. Konstantinos Laguvardos, director of research at the National Observatory in Athens, and adds: “It is a myth that Greece is a country where it is always summer. However, the Greeks continue to go around with this myth. For example, when summer comes, we think that we are invulnerable. We ignore or are indifferent to the rule that when it rains, we do not go into the sea.. We also shouldn’t sit under an umbrella on the beach, ostensibly to protect ourselves while it rains, because the umbrella has metal elements that can attract lightning.”

Ms. Papagiannaki also notes the mood of indifference, which to a certain extent is present in the behavior of the Greeks. “In the responses we received as part of the surveys, citizens told us – up to 112 – that they did not know what an “emergency” number was, while many others admitted that they never bothered to clean the gutters in their homes.”

However, Mr. Laguvardos also highlights the lack of information that exists due to the world’s problematic and fragmented information about the weather and especially about extreme weather events. “We still don’t have the right tools,” he says, and explains: “In America, for example, you go into your mobile phone and see where, at what time and at what speed a weather event occurs. Here we have 112, but no detailed minute-by-minute update of when the phenomenon “starts”. But it is very necessary that all this should change immediately. We are in her era climate crisisand extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. According to the Observatory, 60 very intense and extreme weather events in the decade 2000-2010. turned into 90 in the decade 2010-2020.“.

Ms. Papagiannaki also draws attention to the lack of education of citizens. “It should start at school and work its way up to adult workshops. Do you think many people know how to properly handle a fire extinguisher? But also children – every year at school they conduct exercises on an earthquake, but they never conduct exercises or lessons on other dangerous phenomena, such as storms, lightning, etc. floods“.

Driving in the rain or snow

Transport Expert and Associate Professor at the Transport Engineering Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens, Konstantinos Kepaptsoglunotes that, despite the lack of statistics, transport experts note that citizens move along the road network, in bad weather conditions – heavy rain and heavy snow – and this should be avoided.

In the winter, he says, some people drive without the necessary snow chains in the trunk, or without a fire extinguisher, simply because they don’t care or don’t think it’s important.

Both he and Mr. Laguvardos point out that the mass car exit on the city’s roads during bad weather occurs repeatedly because people cannot trust public transport to get to work on time and without problems. “I remind you that on the day when people were stuck for endless hours on Attiki Odos, they were called to work, and according to our forecasts there should have been a curfew. The lack of protection of the state in relation to the citizen, in turn, cultivates the absence of a culture of self-defense.says Mr. Laguvardos.

In any case, the driving style that we must demonstrate during weather events must also be improved so that citizens can adequately cope with difficulties. As Ms. Papagiannaki points out: “The education and training program for both new drivers and their instructors should be complemented by innovative and experience-based means of highlighting the hazards associated with severe weather events.”