Floods killed many in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria
After Spain last weekend, Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria have been affected by episodes of rain since Monday.
The Greek city of Volos was hit hard by bad weather on Tuesday.
AFP
Heavy rains hit Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria on Monday 4 September and Tuesday 5 September, leaving at least five people dead and many missing.
Greece, which has been hit hard by devastating fires this summer, has been hit by torrential rain since the start of the week, including one that devastated the Thadiya National Park in Evros (north). “Heavy rain with thunderstorms fell on Tuesday, especially in Volos, the capital of Magnesia (central) department,” fire brigade spokesman Yannis Artobios told public TV channel Ert.
Initial reports suggested the victim had been swept away by the flood, and firefighters said three people, including a shepherd, were missing in the village of Agios Georgios in the same region. According to the Greek Coast Guard, a woman on a boat is also being searched for in the sea off Salkidiki, further north.
According to civil defense services, the Magnesia sector and islands near Sporades are on red alert. According to the National Meteorological Service (EMY), rainfall in Volos is 200mm and 600mm in the nearby village of Zagora, located at the foot of Mount Pelion. “The amount of water that fell in 24 hours is the normal rainfall set for the entire fall,” meteorologist Panayiotis Giannopoulos told Earth.
“According to meteorologists, this is the most extreme event in terms of the amount of water that fell in the 24-hour period that Greece keeps archives on the matter,” he said at a press conference. “In Zagora, in Mount Pelion, 645 mm of rain fell until 3pm (…) and after a brief lull, the rain is expected to intensify again early tomorrow morning,” he added.
The basement of the Volos hospital and the city’s streets were flooded and firefighters were “pumping water,” says Yannis Artobios. Police have barred access to some villages in Volos, Pelion and the nearby island of Skiathos, where “planes cannot approach the airport” due to flooding, Savvas Karaiannis, head of communications at Fraport, the German company that manages regional airports in Greece, told AFP. .
Public transport in and around the city of Volos has been suspended until further notice and authorities have been notified of power and water cuts. Traffic to South Pelion has been shut down due to the bridge collapse.
Istanbul became a torrent
Flash floods triggered by heavy rain in Turkey killed two people on Tuesday, officials said. The rain has turned the streets of Istanbul into raging rivers.
The overnight storm partially flooded a subway station and forced the evacuation of dozens of people from the municipal library, according to media reports. Footage broadcast on TV and social media showed streams of water flowing past cars and market stalls. The governor’s office said two people died.
The rain follows a particularly dry summer that has seen reservoirs drop to a nine-year low in the city of 16 million people. Turkish emergency services say two people have died and four are missing after floods hit the city of Kirklareli in the country’s northwest.
“Unprecedented” in Bulgaria
Two more people died after being caught in torrential rains on the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria, where holidaymakers were missing, according to evacuation officials.
“Unfortunately at least many people have lost their lives,” Prime Minister Nikolai Tenkov told reporters in the city of Tsarevo (southeast), which has been hit hard by bad weather. “A man and a woman died,” he said, adding that others were also being sought. The head of government rushed there to oversee the efforts of rescue workers and view the damage.
Rain-swollen rivers overflowed their beds, flooding roads and panicking tourists, many of whom were enjoying the last days of summer. Several hundreds of people had to leave their camps and other resorts to seek shelter in an emergency.
According to pictures posted on social networks, beaches have been devastated by raging seas, cars and caravans have been submerged. The “amount of rain” that has fallen since Monday is “unprecedented,” said Tsarevo Mayor Georgy Laptchev, quoted by the Nova TV channel, where a state of emergency has been declared, like in other cities. A tornado was also spotted in Tulenovo, further north.
While the Black Sea coast is rarely affected by floods, in the context of climate change and poor infrastructure maintenance, Bulgaria is seeing an increase in this type of phenomenon. Experts say global warming has increased the intensity of storms, with more rain and stronger winds causing flash floods and coastal damage.
After months of historic drought, torrential rains also hit Spain, leaving three dead and three missing.
AFP/Laura Manent
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