Greece Struggling With Deadly Flooding
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ATHENS (Worthy News) – Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis struggled Tuesday to deal with his nation’s worst recorded rain event in history while Greece also recovers from deadly wildfires raging across the country earlier this summer.
A powerful storm system dropped more than 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rain in less than a day, which led to massive flooding that killed at least one person with another swept away by a raging river, authorities said.
While Mitsotakis met with leaders, the coastal port city of Volos, north of the capital Athens, reportedly saw the same amount of water falling in 24 hours that it usually gets for the whole of autumn.
The mayor of Volos, Achilleas Beos, visited some of the flooded areas Tuesday and warned residents that “there is no reason to be moving around.” Beos added: “Stay in your homes so we can operate our equipment.”
Greek police banned travel to Volos, some parts of nearby Pelion, and the popular island of Skiathos. Planes could not approach Skiathos airport, a spokesman for the company that manages Greece’s regional airports said.
The torrential rain in Central Greece submerged streets and wreaked widespread damage just as firefighters contained enormous wildfires in the country.
MAN MISSING
Greece’s fire service said a 51-year-old Albanian national died after a wall collapsed on him; State news media identified him as a cattle breeder trying to reach his animals.
A 42-year-old Greek man was missing after getting out of his car to try to push his 16-year-old son to safety amid raging floodwaters, a fire service spokesman, Vassals Vathrakoyiannis, said.
“The boy was found in the car,” he recalled. “We’re still looking for the dad.”
Television footage showed semi-submerged cars stuck on flooded streets and vehicles being swept into the sea or onto muddy beaches.
Police banned traffic in three regions a day after warnings by local authorities and Greece’s fire service for people to avoid unnecessary travel during the onset of the wet front, Storm Daniel.
The damage came days after major flooding elsewhere in Europe: In Spain, for instance, the slow-moving storm, dubbed a “Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos,” or DANA, brought exceptional rainfall, leaving a trail of destruction and killing at least five people since Saturday.