The death toll from flooding in central Greece has increased to 10, while 4 others are missing
The death toll from severe flooding in central Greece has increased to 10 people, while another four remain missing, Greece’s climate crisis and civil protection minister says, as rescue crews in helicopters and boats are ferrying hundreds of people fr...
ATHENS, Greece — The death toll from severe flooding in central Greece rose to 10 people Friday, while another four remained missing, the country's civil protection minister said. Rescue crews in helicopters and boats ferried hundreds of people from inundated villages to safety.
Flooding triggered by rainstorms also hit neighboring Bulgaria and Turkey, killing a total of 22 people in all three countries since the rains began Tuesday.
In Greece, the rainstorms turned streams into raging torrents that burst dams, washed away roads and bridges and hurled cars into the sea. Authorities have said some areas received twice the average annual rainfall for Athens in the space of just 12 hours.
Although the rainstorms had ebbed by Friday, floodwater continued to rise after the Pineios River burst its banks near the city of Larissa, one of Greece's largest cities with a population of around 150,000, triggering evacuation orders for several areas.
“The situation is tragic,” Larissa resident Ioanna Gana told Greece’s Open television channel, adding that water levels in her flooded neighborhood were rising “minute by minute.”
Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said the Pineios River levels were “keeping us on constant alert.”
“Great care must be taken by all as the flooding could intensify at any moment," he said.
By Friday afternoon, Kikilias said, 1,700 people had been rescued by boat and vehicles, while another 296 had been plucked from the flooded
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