Greece: Storm Elias wreaks havoc on city of Volos

A second powerful storm turned streets into rivers in central Greece on Thursday.

Storm Elias caused extensive flooding in the central port city of Volos and surrounding regions and left hundreds stranded in villages in the region.

The city was only recovering from a Mediterranean storm that triggered flash floods earlier this month and left 16 dead.

The previous storm caused more than €2 billion ($2.3 billion) in damage to farms and infrastructure, authorities said.

Volos has turned into a lake, city mayor says

“All of Volos has turned into a lake,” the city’s mayor, Achilleas Beos, told state television.

“People’s lives are in danger. Even I remained trapped, and 80% of the city is without power. … I don’t know where God found so much water. It’s like the story of Noah’s Ark,” he said.

Volos declared a state of emergency on Wednesday to keep people off the streets. The fire service received hundreds of calls for assistance, but there were no reports of deaths.

Flood waters swept away roads and flooded thousands of homes. People were using buckets to scoop mud out of their homes.

Authorities responded to calls for help on the nearby island of Evia, where the army and municipal crews and the army removed debris on the road.

Volos has a population of 140,000 residents and the surrounding region is vulnerable to flooding due to the impact of massive wildfires in the area two years ago. 

The role of climate change in Greece's floods

The flooding follows the hottest summer on record and massive wildfires that devoured forests and homes across swathes of the country, killing more than a dozen people.

Greece's conservative government led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis has come under fire for the trail of climate-related disasters, with Mitsotakis earlier this month vowing to act to mitigate climate risks.

Climate researchers have repeatedly sounded the alarm about reducing harmful emissions as global temperatures rise and exacerbate weather events.

Researchers earlier this month found that climate change had magnified the intensity of the Mediterranean storm that pounded Greece and also tore through Libya.

rm/jcg (AP, DW sources)