ATHENS (Reuters) – Torrential rains flooded homes, businesses and roads on the popular Greek island of Rhodes, forcing authorities to temporarily ban traffic as Storm Bora battered the country for a second day.
On Saturday, a man died in floods that hit another Greek island in the northern Aegean.
Firefighters received more than 650 calls to pump water from flooded buildings on the island of Rhodes and evacuated 80 people to safety, while the town of Ialysos was hit hard. No injuries were reported.
Cars and debris were piled up on flooded streets in Rhodes, with residents trying to clear the mud from flooded areas.
“The situation is bad, some have lost their homes, others have fled, our cars are in bad shape,” said Sofia Kanelli in Ialysos.
Firefighters spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis told Greece’s SKAI TV that the bad weather will continue on Monday.
The Mediterranean country has been ravaged by floods and wildfires in recent years, as scientists say Greece has become a “hot spot” due to climate change.
“The conditions in recent years are different; we have sudden rains and flash floods,” said Varthakogiannis.
In 2023, more than 20,000 tourists and locals were forced to flee their beachfront homes and hotels as wildfires burned for days.
Thunderstorms and heavy rain also disrupted train services in mainland Greece, especially in the center and north of the country.
