1 dies, 1 goes missing as floods hit central Greece

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – At least one person died and another went missing in central Greece, which has been hit hard by landslides and floods caused by heavy rains, local media reported on Tuesday.

One person was swept away by a flooded stream in the province of Volos, while another, a 70-year-old livestock farmer, died as a result of a landslide caused by heavy rain in the region, the public broadcaster ERT reported.

In Volos, where a hospital was also flooded, many drivers were trapped in their cars, and the fire department worked intensively to rescue them, it said, adding that the drainage network could not absorb the record level of rainwater.

Meanwhile, the civil protection general secretariat urged residents in the cities of Thessaloniki, Volos, Larissa, Evia, and Katerini to be careful and limit their movement as a precautionary measure against the threat of flooding.

In a related development, the National Observatory of Athens has advised residents of the southern Peloponnese region, western Epirus region, and central region of Attika, which includes the capital Athens and the adjacent port city of Piraeus, to take precautionary measures after forecasting heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.