By Rafael Cereceda, Euronews
Greece has declared a state of emergency in its northern border with Turkey after an overflowing Evros river reached peak levels and flooded the area last Friday.
The river also engulfed riverbanks and fields in Edirne — near Turkey’s border with Greece and Bulgaria — and submerged the city’s famous wrestling stadium. Bridges all over the region were closed for precaution.
Images from the Sentinel 2 satellite from the EU Earth observation programme Copernicus show a region that went from being almost completely dry last year to flooded last weekend.
The Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) — a water body mapping approach — made the changes from drought to flooding even more impressive.
The satellite pictures show that the most flooded areas are on the riverbanks so the rivers end up covering their own original space.
The Copernicus programme is actively collaborating with the Greek government to monitor the situation.
