The 2023 storm Daniel hit areas of Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey and Libya, leading to severe flooding phenomena. One of the severely affected areas was the Thessaly Region in central Greece, which was subjected to extreme precipitation, with historic record rainfalls. This paper presents an overview of the observed damage to the built environment (buildings, bridges, slopes, etc.) and the resulting soil response or soil-structure interaction phenomena associated with the severe flooding caused by storm Daniel. To assist readers, reported cases of damage and supporting evidence (such as photos, rainfall level, etc.) are introduced in an interactive map of the affected area, illustrating the spatial effects of this severe storm on the built environment.

The storm Daniel and subsequent floods hit the Region of Thessaly (Greece) in early September 2023, causing extensive damage to the built environment (buildings, networks, and infrastructure), the natural environment (water bodies and soil), and the population (fatalities, injured, homeless, and displaced people). Additionally, the conditions and factors favorable for indirect public health impact (infectious diseases) emerged in the flood-affected communities. The factors had to do with infectious diseases from rodents and vectors, injuries, respiratory infections, water contamination, flood waste and their disposal sites as well as structural damage to buildings and the failures of infrastructure. The conditions that evolved necessitated the mobilization of the Civil Protection and Public Health agencies not only to cope with the storm and subsequent floods but also to avoid and manage indirect public health impact. The instructions provided to affected residents, health experts, and Civil Protection staff were consistent with the best practices and lessons learned from previous disasters. The emphasis should be on training actions for competent agencies, as well as education and increasing the awareness of the general population. Non-structural and structural measures should be implemented for increasing the climate resilience of infrastructures including the health care systems within a One Health approach.