The Sunday-evening thundershowers and heavy rainfall affected large parts of the country, with fire brigade services receiving numerous calls for flooded basements and vehicles.
In Argos, a 55-year-old Serbian woman drowned in her basement apartment, while the mayor of Argos Dimitris Kamposos has declared the city in a state of emergency and extended a call for help, as his municipality experienced significant damages from the overflowing nearby rivers.
Other areas in Peloponnesus such as Kyparissia, Sparta, Nemea, Kiato and Corinth also experienced serious problems due to the heavy rainfall. The national highway network suffered damages from the rain and landslides, while local fire departments received a total of 245 calls to pump water from flooded basements and to evacuate people trapped in vehicles and flooded buildings.
Areas in Attica also experienced many problems due to the rainfall, although they were not as pronounced. Traffic in the capital city’s main arteries came to a near standstill in many cases, such as Pentelis Avenue on the Marousi-Melissia border.
The north of Greece was also affected by the harsh weather conditions, with traffic in Rodopi grinding to a halt as main roads were cut off from overflowing rivers. The snowfall near Pella has also blocked off the road towards the Vorras ski resort. Many other roads around Kastoria, Florina and Grevena have also been affected by the snow.
Weather prediction for the rest of the week
The national meteorological service has announced that the next few days will see temperatures drop while and wind speeds increase, while snowfall is expected in the mountainous regions in the country.
The heavy rainfall and thunderstorms which plagued much of the country over the weekend will subside by Tuesday, when the strong northern winds take over in Eastern Greece and Attica.
The northern winds will make temperatures drop bellow freezing in many parts of the country, not just the northern, mountainous areas. The peaks in Evia, eastern Peloponnesus, Attica and even Crete should be covered in snow by Tuesday.
This bout of bad weather is expected to continue until Saturday, when southerly winds pick up and bring a slight increase in temperature.
