The Holy Community and the Civil Administration submitted a request to the Civil Protection to declare a state of emergency in Mount Athos due to the great damage caused in recent days by heavy rain that hit the peninsula.
The majority of the monasteries, hermitages and cells have been cordoned off due to damage to the forest road network, with the main road leading from the port of Dafni to the capital, Karyes, being cut in two.
Monks contacted by ANA-MPA spoke of an “abysmal situation” for the Athonite community, stressing that the amount of damage has not yet been assessed.
Information indicates that civil protection units will try to travel tomorrow to Athos in order to record the scale of the disaster.
In the midst of the heavy weather, however, monks carried the holy icon of the Virgin Mary “Axion Esti” in procession around the primary temple (Protaton) yesterday in Karyes while praying to God for protection from the coronavirus pandemic.
