ATHENS – Violent weather conditions across Greece have claimed one life and caused extensive flooding damage to residential areas, with emergency responders working around the clock to address the destruction left in the storm’s wake.
Fire department officials confirmed Thursday that rescue teams recovered the body of a victim in Nea Makri, a coastal resort community located approximately 21.75 miles northeast of Athens. According to local news reports, the individual was swept away by rushing floodwaters and became pinned beneath a vehicle while trying to navigate a waterlogged roadway.
Emergency services reported fielding hundreds of distress calls as the weather system known as Erminio pounded Athens and multiple Aegean Sea islands on Wednesday. Rescue teams worked to extract residents from rising waters and clear roadways blocked by toppled trees throughout the affected regions.
Recovery efforts continued into Thursday morning as work crews focused on debris removal, water extraction from inundated structures, and infrastructure repairs in areas east of the Greek capital. Transportation officials also suspended ferry operations from Piraeus harbor near Athens to various Greek islands as a safety precaution.
The Mediterranean island of Crete experienced unusual atmospheric conditions Wednesday when powerful winds reaching force 9 intensity transported sand particles from North Africa, creating an otherworldly orange sky and causing flight disruptions.
Located at the southern edge of Europe, Greece has experienced increasingly severe flooding and wildfire events in recent years, which climate experts link to accelerating global temperature increases.
