Update 10/16/2022 10:34 AM
- Severe autumn storms are raging in Greece.
- Crowds of water wash cars into the sea, flood roads, killing two people.
- There is talk of a century of rain, even of a “biblical catastrophe.”
Intense autumn storms killed at least two people in Crete over the weekend and caused extensive damage. “It was the worst Storm Crete’s regional governor, Stavros Arnautakis, said Sunday to the Protothema news portal that Kathimerini newspaper wrote about a “biblical catastrophe”.
Already on Saturday, a 50-year-old man was swept into the car and drowned. It was only on Sunday that the missing 49-year-old could be recovered – she was submerged in the sea. Police and firefighters recorded countless calls from affected citizens and local electricity was cut off.
Video footage showed crowds of water and mud pouring through the narrow streets with great force, taking with them dozens of cars, garbage and even large rocks.
Severe weather in Greece: flash floods acted like a reverse tsunami
Geology professor Efthimios Likas explained on state radio that the flash floods caused by torrential rains were a reverse tsunami – they washed everything away. The storm erupted, especially in the area around the capital, Heraklion, Crete.
The city’s airport remained closed for hours on Saturday. Dozens of holiday planes had to divert to the city of Chania in western Crete as well as to the Athens airport because the runway at Heraklion was under water.
The situation calmed down on Sunday. According to meteorologists, the storm moved in a noticeably weak direction towards the southern coast of Turkey. (dpa/mbo)
© dpa
Motivational picture: © dpa / Eurokinissi / Eurokinissi via ZUMA Press Wire / dpa
