2023-09-05 16:24:00
Heavy rain follows heat waves: streets and houses were flooded in Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria. At least three people died and many more are missing. The storms might continue.
Heavy rain has caused flooding in southern Europe and Turkey. According to authorities, at least three people died.
Of these, two people died in western Turkey. The civil protection authority Afad said that four more are still being sought in the province of Kirklareli, near the Greek and Bulgarian borders. Six others were saved.
In addition, numerous houses were flooded. In the western Turkish province of Kirklareli near the border with Greece and Bulgaria, bungalows at a holiday resort were also swept away by the floods, the state news agency Anadolu reported.
The day before there had also been severe storms in Mugla, southwestern Turkey. There, lightning strikes caused fires in 36 different places, Anadolu reported. The civil protection authority Afad warned of further storms in the west and south-west of Turkey. There might be flash floods, lightning strikes and storms.
A car is washed away in the Greek mountain region of Pelion, near Volos.
A dead man in Greece
A man also died in central Greece, as a spokesman for the fire brigade confirmed to the public broadcaster ERT. Another man is missing.
There, the storm “Daniel” brought the large masses of water, some of which swept cars with them. People were rescued from their homes in inflatable boats, for example in the port city of Volos, where the water sometimes flowed waist-deep.
Police banned vehicles from the streets of the city of Volos and the nearby mountainous region of Pelion. Exceptions were made for ambulances and road patrol vehicles. Authorities also sent alerts to mobile phones in several other areas of central Greece, the Sporades island chain and the island of Euboea, urging people not to go outside because of the storm.
Warning of record rain
The Greek weather service announced that rainfall of 650 to 700 liters of rain per square meter was forecast for the Pelion region for today and tomorrow. 550 to 600 liters of rain are expected in the city of Karditsa. The weather service pointed out that the average amount of precipitation in the region around the capital Athens is 400 liters per year.
The power went out on the island of Corfu and there were problems with the operation of the airport there. On the Sporades islands of Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos, there was lightning and thunder at night, sometimes every second, in the Elis region in the west of the Peloponnese, hail destroyed parts of the upcoming olive harvest. According to meteorologists, it should continue to rain heavily at least until Thursday.
Bulgaria: Bridges and caravans drift away
Flooded houses and hotels were also reported from neighboring Bulgaria. Three people are missing, said civil protection chief Aleksandar Dschartow the television channel bTV. Authorities declared a state of emergency in the Tsarevo area following the Veleka River burst its banks, Bulgarian media reported.
Bridges were swept away by the floods. Several seaside resorts were cut off from the outside world because country roads were impassable because of the water. Several campsites in the region were also flooded, and according to media reports, strong winds drove cars and caravans into the sea. Vacationers were taken to safety.
Temperatures seem to be going down
In the past few weeks, southern Europe has been struggling with heat waves and fires. In Greece, as a result of the heavy rainfall, there is no risk of forest fires in most of the country for the first time in months.
Turkey was also hit by a heat wave. The temperatures in the east of the country are currently still above the usual values for the season, according to the weather authority. In the rest of the country it is now in the normal range.
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