The blistering heat in large parts of Europe and devastating forest fires are now followed by storms and heavy rainfall. In Spain people were killed and injured after heavy rainfall, in Greece a driving ban was imposed in many places due to flooding. Civil protection sent a similar warning text message to residents of the port city of Volos and the Sporades island of Skiathos.
It had rained so heavily there on Tuesday night that cars were swept away by the waters. In many places there was a temporary power failure and the mobile telephone network and internet temporarily did not work or only worked to a limited extent on Tuesday.
Where recently a fire raged, the streams now turn into raging rivers. People need to be rescued with inflatable boats, one has already died. The masses of water that the storm “Daniel” has been pouring over central Greece since Monday evening have exceeded all predictions. Cars were simply swept away by the floods, as shown by numerous videos posted on social networks and Greek media.
Counted 12,000 flashes within two hours
In the cities of Larisa and Volos, 12,000 flashes were counted within two hours on Tuesday evening, the newspaper ‘To Proto Thema’ reported, citing the fire brigade. On the island of Corfu, the power went out and there were problems with the operation of the airport there. On the Sporadic islands of Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos, lightning and thunder erupted every second, causing landslides. In the Elis region in the west of the Peloponnese peninsula, hail destroyed parts of the upcoming olive harvest.
One fatality, one person missing
People are being rescued from their homes in inflatable boats, for example in the port city of Volos, where the water was waist-deep on Tuesday. And it should continue to rain heavily until Thursday at least. In Volos, a man died when a wall collapsed under the body of water. Another is missing, a spokesperson for the fire service confirms. The damage is enormous.
In addition, hospitals were flooded. People on their way to Volos are advised to turn around. That’s what the mayor asked.
“A storm like I’ve never seen before!”, a woman posted about a video showing meters high waves on the beach.
“It will continue to rain for many hours to come!”
ERT weather forecaster Panagiotis Giannopoulos said he had no recollection of 500 millimeters of rain falling in the region in 24 hours. “And it will continue to rain for many hours to come!” he warned. One millimeter of rain corresponds to one liter of water on one square meter.
On Thursday, 500 to 1500 liters of rain per square meter could fall locally in Central Greece. “That roughly corresponds to the annual precipitation total in Germany,” said the German Weather Service.
Source: Krone
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