Kypseli: A cry of despair over cracks from the Metro - 'Damage in 200 apartments, what will happen in an earthquake?'

Fear and desperation grip residents in Athens' Kypseli neighborhood as deep cracks mar their homes, a situation they attribute to the ongoing construction of Metro Line 4. Homeowners and tenants point to visible damage on walls, beams, doors, and even floor tiles, with the local Residents' Initiative reporting serious harm to over 20 apartment buildings.

“

My house is about a hundred meters from Plateia Kypselis, and as you will see, with the start of the works for the metro line extension, large cracks have started to appear throughout the building. Most cracks are diagonal and start from the windows and doors. This is mainly due to the subsidence that has occurred in the ground because of the work.

The problems reportedly began when the tunnel boring machine excavated the ground between the Plateia Kypselis and Evelpidon stations. The recent building collapse in Petralona has amplified residents' anxieties into outright terror. Many have already abandoned their homes due to the unsettling appearance of their buildings, with tenants leaving as soon as the cracks appeared.

“

It started immediately after the tunnel boring machine passed. It must have been March or April. Right from the first week they appeared, and because we don't know if the subsidence phenomenon is still active, new cracks continue to appear or existing ones expand.

Alexandros Koutroularis, a Kypseli resident, described the dramatic impact on his building, located about 100 meters from Plateia Kypselis. He explained that large diagonal cracks, originating from windows and doors, appeared rapidly after the tunnel boring machine passed through in March or April. "The ground subsidence is due to the work," he stated, noting that new cracks continue to appear or existing ones expand as the subsidence may still be active.

“

There were tenants who left as soon as the cracks appeared. All apartments have exactly the same damage. All of them, from the basement up. There are about 200 apartments that are recorded with damage right now, from Plateia Kypselis diagonally up to Evvoias, where the project has stopped for a month and a half to two months.

Residents are also complaining about a complete lack of information regarding the underground excavation phases, despite the work occurring very close to their foundations. "They came and did a visual inspection before starting the work to see if there were already cracks in the buildings. Then they installed sensors to measure subsidence. Then, without notifying us, the place suddenly started shaking one night," Koutroularis recounted. He added that the excavation is about ten meters deep, while the lowest basement in his building is eight meters deep.

“

They came and did a visual inspection before starting the work to see if there were already cracks in the buildings. Then they installed sensors to measure subsidence. Then, without notifying us, the place suddenly started shaking one night. We went down to the second basement and felt it in our feet, because they must have dug about ten meters deep and think that our last basement reaches eight meters deep.