A 62-year-old man died on the Greek island of Rhodes in a severe storm that hit the country on Wednesday, 14 October. The island is in a state of emergency, Greek authorities said.
People are being evacuated in Evia after rivers burst their banks. Roads are also flooded and closed in Attica, on Skiathos and on Rhodes.
The man died in the Stegna area near Archangelos. The storm has battered Rhodes since early morning and caused heavy damage. Mayor Alexandros Koliadis said the situation on the island is especially bad. He has called an emergency meeting of the Coordinating Body, which will make a first assessment of the damage and decide what steps to take.
Floodwater swept four cars into the sea, port authorities said. Firefighters checked all four and found no one inside. The Coast Guard sent an offshore patrol vessel and the Fire Service sent a fast boat to check the coastline.
On Rhodes, streets are flooded and traffic has stopped. Teams from the municipality, the South Aegean Region and Civil Protection are working on the ground.
In Evia, Psachna is being evacuated. At 13:49, people in the area got a message from 112: "If you are in the Psachna area, Evia Regional Unit, move to Nea Artaki because of a river overflow." Earlier, authorities also evacuated Makrykapa, where a river also burst its banks. The island's road network has problems and travel is hard.
Oropos municipality in Attica stopped traffic in two places. The coastal avenue is closed at the Markopoulo traffic lights because the road is flooded. Cars to and from Markopoulo and Agioi Apostoloi are using Evias Street and Panayotis Dimas Street.
The regional road between Markopoulo and Malakasa is closed until further notice after a stream overflowed next to the Phaethon museum in Malakasa. The municipality will reopen the avenue when the water drops, the road is cleaned and it is safe to pass. Oropos urged drivers to avoid the route, follow the authorities' instructions and never drive through standing water.
Elsewhere in Attica, streets have water and traffic jams. Authorities are on alert because the Kifisos river may burst its banks. The Fire Service is getting calls to pump out water and deal with other storm incidents.
On Skiathos, water is making roads hard to use, and in places it is hard to get through. Strong wind, mainly in the Aegean Sea, is disrupting sea transport. Trees fell in places and power was cut.
The 112 emergency service has told people to limit unnecessary travel. The state emergency system is on high alert, and schools have been closed where needed. Civil Protection advises people to follow official instructions and messages, avoid flooded roads and take precautions until the storm passes.
Meteorologists consider the next 24 hours critical. Forecasts say the storm will ease gradually in some places in the late afternoon and evening, but rain and thunder may continue locally.
The weather is expected to worsen again from Friday, mainly in eastern Greece and the Aegean Sea.
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