The death toll from the floods following torrential rains in central Greece has reached two, while at least three people are missing. The hardest hit areas are Thessaly and in particular the city of Volos, Mt. Pilion, and the island of Skiathos.
The latest victim is an 87-year-old woman, missing since yesterday from the Paltsi region of Magnesia, who was found dead on Wednesday. The elderly woman was found in a pile of wood, while 8 firefighters tried to pull her out.
On Tuesday, a 51-year-old man was found dead in Agios Georgios Volos, when he was crushed by a wall that caved in due to the pressure due to the large amounts of water.
The Fire Department said that two people are missing in the village of Paltsi, Magnesia. They are two men aged 85 and 70 and investigations are underway to locate them.
In total, there are three missing people, as a 42-year-old man has been missing since Tuesday, who was swept away by the water in the stream of Agia Aikaterini, Volos.
Storm Daniel, which has battered Greece since Monday, triggered landslides, destroyed a bridge, caused the collapse of power poles and carried away dozens of cars in muddy waters, just days after a deadly wildfire in the north of the country.
Floods alert for Trikala and Karditsa, Central Greece
Greece has said the weather was the most extreme in terms of the amount of rainfall since records have been kept in the country.
Police on Wednesday issued traffic warnings for the cities of Trikala and Karditsa, further west, as the rainstorm was expected to intensify again later on Wednesday.
Significant problems are also noted in the eastern and northern side of Evia Island.
Flash floods in Greece in 2017 killed 25 people and left hundreds homeless.
According to the updated Emergency Bulletin for Dangerous Weather Phenomena issued on Wednesday by the National Meteorological Service (EMY), severe weather conditions, including heavy rainfall, storms, frequent lightning, strong winds in the Aegean region, and lower temperatures, are expected to persist until Thursday.
More specifically, Wednesday’s forecast includes showers and rainstorms with easterly winds reaching up to 7 on the Beaufort scale. Rainstorms are anticipated in the northern parts of the country, with temperatures ranging from 18°C to 28°C.
Athens is expected to experience rain and rainstorms with temperatures between 22°C and 28°C, while Thessaloniki will see heavy rainfall and temperatures ranging from 18°C to 26°C.