Dead fish blanket Greek tourist port after flooding

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00:00This stench of this silvery blanket of death is unbearable, according to the mayor of Volos,

00:06as authorities plow on with cleaning up hundreds of thousands of dead fish after they washed

00:12up on beaches and in the port.

00:15The city and the Pagasitikos Gulf are facing an ecological disaster, but those responsible

00:22for this environmental crime have a name.

00:27Volos' mayor and others blame the Greek government for not dealing with the problem before it

00:31reached the city, by for example putting up nets to keep the freshwater fish from leaving

00:36their riverbeds.

00:37While an investigation is underway, the fish are thought to have died upon contact with

00:41saltwater.

00:42The environmental disaster is due, experts believe, to mass floods last year further

00:47north.

00:48The lake waters of those historic floods are now drying up, pushing the fish downstream.

00:54Environmentalists fear that this second environmental crisis could further hurt tourism in the central

00:58Greek city.

01:00After the floods, our city was devastated.

01:03The sea and the gulf have now been filled with fish from Lake Kala.

01:06Our revenue has dropped by 80% compared to last year.

01:11Environmentalists also fear that so many decomposing fish could harm marine life.

01:17The second potential issue is widespread pollution from pathogens that could develop, potentially

01:22harming marine mammals in the gulf such as dolphins and turtles.

01:31The environmental disaster comes as Greece is recovering from its worst forest fire this

01:35year.

01:37Experts warn that the area around Athens can no longer afford to lose its forests to extreme

01:42blazes and droughts, which, like the floods, are linked to climate change.

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