During the period of 12 January and February 2021, the rivers Erythropotamos (Greek: Ερυθροπόταμος) and Evros (Greek: Έβρος) also known as Maritsa (Bulgarian: Марица, Turkish: Meriç) overflowed twice because of heavy rainstorms resulting in severe floods of the areas around the rivers, that led to 1 death[1] and serious damages to private and public property.
Many houses including the central square of the village were flooded and local authorities were present in the area for hours.
[8] Few hours later, Bulgaria opened up the Ivaylovgrad Dam, releasing large amounts of water in the Evros river.
Around 15:00, a bus carrying passengers from Alexandroupoli to Orestiada was trapped at the Feres agency, unable to go anywhere because of all the roads being blocked due to floods.
Teachers that worked in Alexandroupoli were unable to return to their home, and that resulted in them staying in Feres and Tychero all day.
Around 16:00, Erythropotamos overflowed and embankments broke, causing severe damage to fields and properties around the area of many villages of the Didymoteicho municipality.
A few minutes later, the General Regional Police Directorate of Eastern Macedonia & Thrace announced the cessation of traffic on the National Road Ardaniou - Ormeniou (A21), from the settlement of Provatona to the District of Dadia.
Around 17:00, the village of Poros was evacuated because of the overflow of the stream "Tsai" which led to the decision by the mayor of Alexandroupoli, Giannis Zampoukis.
At this time, many villages in the area of Erythropotamos flooded with severe damages in buildings and fields from powerful water pressure.
During the operation, however, the 46-year-old Chief Firefighter Zafeiropoulos Ioannis, driver of a fire truck that participated in the efforts and "stuck" in the rainwater, as he was walking away, was swept away by the rushing waters and was found dead near the airport streams.
The broken embankments also restrict farmers and residents from visiting specific areas because of destroyed paths.
Under the road that collapsed in Avdella, there were optical fibers which were responsible for the internet connection and for the interconnection of the landlines in the villages of Alepochori and Polia.
This led to severe optical fiber damage that took about two months to repair, leaving children unable to attend e-learning (which was mandatory of a general COVID-19 lockdown that was going on since November) for weeks until a solution was to be found.