Coastal Hazards and Related Impacts in Greece

Greece has a coastline of about 16,000 km where most of its population, infrastructure, assets and socio-economic activity are concentrated. Most large urban and industrial conglomerates are located at the coast, as well as critical infrastructure such as its many seaports. Coastal areas also form the pillar of Greek tourism, a vital economic sector for Greece. At the same time, the Greek coasts face many climatic and geophysical hazards. This chapter provides a short review of some of these hazards and impacts, focusing mainly on those associated with Climate Variability and Change (CV&C). The analysis shows that the Greek coastal zone faces large threats, some of which are projected to be exacerbated by CV&C. Slow-onset relative sea level rise (RSLR) and extreme storm events will have very substantial and increasing impacts on the Greek low-lying coasts (e.g., beaches and deltaic coasts) and coastal infrastructure, assets and activities. Under both the slow-onset RSLR and the increasing magnitude and frequency of extreme sea levels, there will be very significant effects on the widths of the 7400 Greek beaches and, therefore, on their carrying capacity for tourism, recreational value and the value of associated assets from (at least) the 2050s. Impacts will further escalate by the end of the century, when at least 40% (and up to 89%) of all Greek beaches will permanently retreat by a distance at least equal to their current beach maximum widths under the Representative Concentration Pathway – RCP8.5 and high ice-melt scenario; these retreats will have potentially devastating impacts on the ecosystems and infrastructure/assets they front. Future extreme sea levels will further exacerbate these impacts, with very severe flood damages and losses projected for the backshore ecosystems and assets, even if the fronting beaches recover after the storms. There will also be significant challenges for the critical infrastructure located at the coastal front, such as seaports, involving impacts from both flooding under extreme events and operational disruptions from, e.g., the increasing magnitude and frequency of extreme heat waves. It appears that detailed risk assessments and innovative adaptation measures are required to manage such impacts and build resilience in the Greek coastal zone. Effective integrated coastal management frameworks/plans should be developed and implemented, which will also require the adoption and effective implementation of appropriate regulation and governance structures.