Evacuation orders issued in central Greece as river bursts its banks

Athens, The Gulf Observer: Floodwaters were rising around one of Greece’s largest cities on Friday after a river burst its banks, while fire department and military helicopters were plucking people from villages inundated by tons of water and mud that have left at least six people dead, six missing and many people clinging to the roofs of their homes.

Flooding triggered by rainstorms also hit neighboring Bulgaria and Turkiye, killing a total of 18 people in all three countries since the rains began on Tuesday, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

In Greece, severe rainstorms that lashed the country turned streams into raging torrents that burst dams, washed away roads and bridges and hurled cars into the sea. Authorities said that some areas received twice the average annual rainfall for Athens in the space of just 12 hours.

Although the rainstorms eased, evacuation orders were issued for four areas near the city of Larissa on Friday, with authorities sending alerts to cell phones in the area warning that the Pineios River had burst its banks. Parts of Larissa, which is among the top five biggest cities in Greece with a population of around 150,000, were already starting to flood.