At least three dead in Greece amid widespread damage following Storm Bora
Two men died in a flooded village on the island of Lenmos, while a male driver fell into a ditch as he tried to avoid debris in the northern region of Halkidiki.
Monday 2 December 2024 16:49, UK
A state of emergency has been declared on two Greek islands following storms that left three people dead and caused widespread damage.
More than 30cm of rain fell on Rhodes, one of the first places to be impacted by Storm Bora, which arrived in Greece on Saturday.
Two men died in a flooded village on Lemnos, to the north in the Aegean Sea, according to widespread reports, after flooding damaged roads and buildings.
Rescue teams on the islands, helped by the military and local authorities, rescued many older residents in flood-hit areas, after winds of up to 80mph (129kph) and torrential rain over the weekend flipped cars, caused power outages, and damaged roads.
Among the areas hit hard was the popular Rhodes resort of Faliraki, where flooding caused by torrential rains destroyed a bridge, caused chasms to open up in the ground and damaged homes and shops on the coast.
The third death, that of a male driver who fell into a ditch while trying to avoid debris in the northern region of Halkidiki, was announced on state broadcaster ERT on Monday, according to various reports.
It is reported he died from hypothermia.
Halkidiki was hit with significant damage, English-language Greek news outlet Ekathimerini reported, particularly in Sithonia, the second leg of the peninsula.
The outlet said homes, basements and shops were flooded, roads turned into rivers, and mudslides with debris made roads impassable for drivers.
The UK's Met Office said northeast Greece would see significant flooding as around double its monthly rainfall was expected to fall by Monday.
Vassilis Kikilias, the minister for climate crisis and civil protection, urged those living in storm-hit areas to follow evacuation orders being announced using mobile phone push alerts.
He told private television network Skai it was "a thousand times better to comply with potentially excessive warnings than to face tragedy".
Mr Kikilias has pointed to climate change as the cause of worsening weather conditions in Greece in recent years, including an unprecedented series of heatwaves that intensify wildfires, a severe drought this year, and massive floods in central Greece in 2023.
Rail travel on the Greek mainland was disrupted throughout Monday.
Weather warnings remain in effect for islands of the eastern Aegean islands, as well as parts of central and southern mainland Greece.