After ‘largest ever’ wildfires, Greece witnesses heavy rains and flooding; one dead

At least one person was killed after torrential rains in Greece flooded homes and roads, said a report by Reuters citing the fire brigade on Tuesday (September 5). This comes a day after officials in Greece reported that the firefighters were gaining the upper hand on a massive blaze as deadly wildfires dubbed the “largest ever”in European Union history ravaged the country.

Floods in Greece

Since Monday (Sep 4), Storm Daniel has battered western and central Greece, prompting hundreds of calls to emergency services to pump out the water that caused flooding in several areas.

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A day earlier Greek officials said they were making headway in bringing the wildfire which experts have classified as a “megafire” in Dadia National Park, also in the northern part of the country.

“A man died after a wall collapsed near Volos city, probably due to bad weather,” a fire brigade official told Reuters. The Athens News Agency identified the man as a cattle breeder who was trying to reach his animals.

Fire brigade spokesperson Ioannis Artopoios told Skai television that a man was missing from Volos, a port city on the Pagasetic Gulf after his car was swept away by the rainstorm. “His son came out (of the car) but the father was carried away and there is a search operation under way right now,” said Artopoios.

Multiple cars in Volos were seen being washed away by torrential rain onto muddy shores, reported Reuters, citing footage from the state broadcaster ERT. Officials have also restricted traffic in the wider area of Volos due to the floods.

‘Megafire’ in northeastern Greece

The heavy rain-triggered floods were reported just days after deadly wildfires ravaged areas in northern Greece. The “megafire” blaze in Dalia has destroyed more than 81,000 hectares of the forested area, protected by the European agency Natura 2000, as of Monday (Sep 4).

“According to the latest information from our firefighters, the Dadia fire front is on its way to being completely under control,” said government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis.

The European climate service Copernicus had previously said that the devastation in Dadia accounts for almost half the total area burned by wildfires in Greece since the beginning of this summer.

(With inputs from agencies)

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