Flood in Central Greece: Two more dead recovered New job: Marin withdraws from Finnish politics

Rescue efforts are in full swing in the areas of Central Greece flooded by storm “Daniel”. According to the fire service, two more fatalities occurred on Thursday evening. This increased the death toll to six. In addition, hundreds of people have already been rescued from the flooded areas.

On Thursday afternoon, for the first time, helicopters were able to fly to the completely flooded villages in Karditsa municipality to rescue people from the roofs of houses; before the storm was too strong. The army was also called in and penetrated inaccessible areas with armored vehicles, Greek media report. The extreme weather should be over by next Friday, as predicted by meteorologists – the damage is not yet foreseeable.

In the cities of Volos and Larisa, the situation was catastrophic. In Larisa, after days of rain, about 80 people were surrounded by the floods for more than 24 hours without food or drinking water, the newspaper “To Proto Thema” reported. Eventually, a resident arrived with a tractor and trailer and took the people to safety.

In the port city of Volos, with a population of about 150,000, heavy rains had washed countless tons of mud into the streets. Car traffic remained prohibited until further notice to keep the road clear for rescuers and because roads were flooded or washed away. The power and water supply had not yet been restored on Thursday evening. Meanwhile, drinking water supplies in supermarkets were running out; Photos showed rows of people queuing for a few bottles of water amid the flooding. There are also increasing problems with the food supply, reports Kathimerini daily.

While the rest of Greece – and tourism there – is hardly affected, about 500 holiday families are said to be stuck in the water in the holiday region of Pelion in Thessaly. So said the deputy mayor of South Pelion, Dimitris Parrisiadis, of the “Kathimerini”. The devastation is enormous and most villages are still cut off from the water. “I estimate that about 500 families of Greek and foreign tourists are still in southern Pelion and unable to leave.”

The fire service and police have not provided information about the number of missing persons. This is not possible because people have not yet penetrated the enclosed villages, the report said. Because the people there are without electricity and now also without mobile phone batteries and cannot communicate with the outside world, it is not known who is missing. (sda/dpa)