Photos of the flooding in Greece have been shared on social media as locals scramble to rescue what they can before the next wave of storms hit bringing high winds and torrential downpours
Brit holidaymakers are picking themselves up after wild weather trashed a favourite hotspot leaving houses flooded and cars afloat.
Photos of the chaos in Greece have been shared on social media as locals scramble to rescue what they can before the next wave of storms hit.
On Corfu the car of one British family was stranded after it got stuck on an uphill dirt track until local emergency services were able to rescue those trapped inside.
Meanwhile residents in Oiniades and Aitoliko in Aitoloakarnania have been left trapped inside their homes by heavy flooding. Meanwhile the ongoing deluges have sparked landslides in Nechori, with road networks left completely out of action, further hampering rescue efforts.
Children were forced to stay at home after schools closed in Zakynthos and Rhodes to “ensure the safety of students and staff” amidst the brutal storms.
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Workers and schoolchildren in Athens enjoyed a surprise long weekend in which to celebrate the annual feast of the city’s patrol saint, as officials used the holiday as an excuse to keep people home in the stormy conditions.
Now the southern European nation and holiday spot is battening down the hatches as another 48 hours of hellish weather is forecast to ravage areas with hailstorms and more heavy rain predicted from now into Friday morning Greek time.
Locals and unlucky tourists trapped in the path of the weather system can expect the storm to “bring severe thunderstorms, gale-force winds, a sharp temperature drop and even snow on Mount Kaimaktsalan,” meteorologist Giorgos Tsatrafilias warned.
“October will kick off with strong storms, powerful winds, falling temperatures and even snow,” he added. “The deterioration will start on Thursday from the west and spread across the country through Friday.”
Western and northern Greece and eastern parts of the Aegean, would be singled out for particularly bad weather and could expect heavy rain and thunderstorms, Tsatrafilias said. Meanwhile gale-force winds were forecast across the Ionian and southern Aegean sea and light snow at the Kaimaktsalan ski resort.
With many areas still reeling from flash floods, the latest downpours are expected to fall as snow in Western Macedonia, while heavy rainfall and storms are forecast for Thrace, the Aegean and Crete.
Greece is not the only nation to have suffered in recent days, Italy and Spain were hit with wild Mediterranean storms earlier in the week.
The holiday island of Ibiza was subject to an “extraordinary danger” red alert island on Tuesday as the tail of Storm Gabrielle passed over the Balearics. Troops were deployed to the island and the Civil Guard reported that it had rescued an astonishing 148 people from flooded properties and stricken cars.