The Greek village of Ropoto suffered a serious landslide in 2012 and since then the town has been left abandon and is in ruin. Courtesy: GreekReporter.com
They are calling for assistance. Picture: Greekreporter.com
A PREVIOUSLY picturesque Greek village has been transformed into an abandoned ruin after being struck by a major landslide four years ago.
Ropoto was the biggest village in the area and boasted a school, church and a hotel, but in April 2012 the town suffered a serious landslide.
After houses and buildings began to slide down the side of the mountain, over 300 families were forced to desert their homes, leaving it a ghost town.
The non-profit international Greek news website GreekReporter.com recently produced a poignant 12-minute long documentary explaining what happened to the eerily empty village.
The footage features Yorgos Raubies, former Popoto Council President, who shows the camera crew around the abandoned town, which he says first experienced issues back in the 1960s.
“We had been expecting this since the 60s when the first land-cracks appeared,” he explained.
The Greek village of Ropoto, Greece is sinking. Picture: Greekreporter.comSource:Supplied
“Before then no-one knew the village was sinking, at that time the first cracks appeared in the mountain.”
But surprisingly, he claims that despite knowing the town was sinking, locals were still granted building permits.
it lies ion ruins. Picture: Greekreporter.comSource:Supplied
“Then geologists started giving people permits to build, after 82’ everybody was getting building permits.”
It’s a shambles. Picture: Greekreporter.comSource:Supplied
It wasn’t until almost three decades later that the village experienced their first major disaster in the form of a landslide.
On the tilt. Picture: Greekreporter.comSource:Supplied
“Every autumn we were pushing the waters out of the village, to the big stream,” Yorgos recalled.
“But in 2011 there were no machines to push the rainwater away, and we had also groundwater and that is how it happened.
Christos Roubies looks on in despair at the church of the village of Ropoto.Source:AAP
“Since the last landslide, the terrain has sunk 10 to 15 centimetres, it’s still sinking.”
The local, who grew up in the area, continued: “The village no longer exists, people cannot live there.”
Locals can’t live here anymore. Picture: Greekreporter.comSource:Supplied
According to the former resident, the state hasn’t assisted with helping towards the damage and unbelievably he claimed many still had to pay tax.
“No one did anything to save us,” he said.
Nobody helped. Picture: Greekreporter.comSource:Supplied
“Many people who have been affected by the landslides are asked to pay property tax.”
They are calling for assistance. Picture: Greekreporter.comSource:Supplied
The clip is part of an ongoing film series by Greek Reporter to create awareness and help those suffering through the Greek crisis.
This story originally appeared on The Sun.
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