On November 6, 1961, Greece’s attention was fixed on the swearing-in of Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis’s new government. But as night fell, nature had other plans.
A violent storm — unlike anything Athens had seen before — swept through the capital and surrounding areas. By dawn, 43 people were dead, hundreds were injured, and entire neighborhoods lay in ruins.

The next day, headlines across Greece captured the horror. As the newspaper To Vima reported on November 7, 1961:

“Dozens dead, hundreds injured, thousands left homeless, and damages of incalculable value were the result of a torrential downpour that struck the Athens metropolitan area, including Piraeus and its suburbs. The rain, accompanied by gale-force winds reaching the intensity of a cyclone, fell relentlessly throughout Sunday night.”

The paper added bitterly that such disasters “might occur in rural and unorganized areas of other countries — but never in their capital cities.”

“This proves,” the report continued, “that Athens is a disorganized city, where everything halts or collapses at the first serious spell of bad weather.”

A City Turned Into a River

According to Ta Nea, published the same day, “torrential rains, accompanied by countless lightning strikes and hail, turned Athens into a vast swamp.”

Central streets such as Korai, Sina, Omirou, Voukourestiou, Patission, Alexandras, and Syngrou “were transformed into raging rivers,” while “many cars were stranded mid-road, unable to move through the rising waters.”

In total, more than 1,500 homes flooded and 700 vehicles were immobilized in Athens alone.
The situation in Piraeus, the capital’s port city, was equally tragic.
All available emergency forces — police, military trucks, air force helicopters, and army boats — were mobilized to rescue stranded residents.

Widespread Destruction

Authorities estimated that 60% of Athens’ basements were flooded, while dozens of brick houses in poorer districts — including Dourgouti, Asyrmatos, Metaxourgeio, and Peristeri — either collapsed or became uninhabitable.

The worst damage was recorded in Bournazi and Nea Liosia (today’s Ilion), as well as in Neo Faliro, Moschato, and Kaminia, where the overflowing Kifissos River submerged entire neighborhoods.

In the words of Ta Nea:

“All transport between Athens and Piraeus was cut off. The electric railway was out of service. The Neo Faliro–Moschato area looked like a real lagoon. Two pedestrian bridges were destroyed… the scale of the damage surpasses that of the great floods of 1955 and 1935.”

Scenes of Desperation

By the morning after the storm, Bournazi and Nea Liosia resembled war zones.

“The districts of Bournazi and Kato Liosia presented a tragic sight this morning,” Ta Nea wrote. “Around 20,000 residents, half-dressed and in despair, roamed the streets with the devastation written on their faces.”

The collapse of a small dam near Agios Fanourios Church caused the neighborhood’s floodwaters to surge even higher, sweeping away homes and lives. Thirteen bodies were pulled from the ruins.

At the Agios Ioannis district near the Three Bridges area, the floodwaters also drowned dozens of livestock — including 50 cows, three donkeys, seven dogs, two cats, one goat, and 30 chickens — illustrating the sheer force of the deluge.

People on Rooftops, Watching the Waters Rise

As floodwaters swallowed streets and homes, many residents climbed onto rooftops in a desperate bid for safety.

To Vima vividly described the scene:

“The water swept away everything in its path. People perched on rooftops watched in horror as the muddy waves came one after another, demolishing and destroying. Houses collapsed with a crash, burying those who could not escape beneath debris and mud. Floating in the water were bodies of people and animals, furniture, bedding, and household items… People were powerless to help each other.”

Rescue operations were further hampered by strong winds. A military helicopter sent to evacuate trapped residents was forced to abort its mission.

The Human Toll

As the hours passed, the death toll continued to rise. Hundreds of families lost everything they owned. Emergency workers distributed food and clothing to survivors — the army alone handed out around 9,000 loaves of bread.
The Ministry of Welfare provided food parcels and clothes, while boats were used for transport in the flooded neighborhoods of Moschato, Kaminia, and Peristeri.

“Boats moved across what were once streets,” Ta Nea reported. “In Moschato, Kaminia, and Peristeri, residents relied on rowboats to get around.”

A Tragedy Repeated

The 1961 flood remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in Athens’ history — a grim reminder of how unprepared the city was for extreme weather.

Yet, as modern Greeks know all too well, such scenes have tragically repeated themselves over the decades. Each time, the causes are the same: unchecked urban expansion, poor infrastructure, and the human hand altering nature’s course.

Even more than 60 years later, the flood of November 1961 stands as a warning — that nature, when ignored or mistreated, will always find its way back.