Three people including an eight-month-old baby died on Sunday in the village of Politika in Greece on the island of Euboea (East) hit by torrential rains that inundated dozens of houses and damaged the regional road network, according to a new assessment of the authorities.
An eight-month-old baby was found dead in a house late in the morning, his parents are safe, an official from the fire department press service said. Hours earlier, firefighters found an 86-year-old woman and an 85-year-old man "unconscious" who lived in two different houses. They were transferred to hospital where their death was confirmed, according to the same source.
Cut roads
Some roads in the west of the island, a hundred kilometers from Athens, were cut off by overflowing torrents. Many holidaymakers found themselves stranded at a campsite in the area, according to the Greek News Agency, Ana. "We are living in nightmarish times, all means have been mobilized," said Ana Fanis Spanos, the prefect of central Greece.
Since Saturday, Storm Thalia, accompanied by torrential rains, has hit many regions in mainland Greece. The weather improved on Sunday, depending on the weather. In addition to Politika, nearby villages -Bouzi, Lefkanti and Kontodespoti- also suffered extensive damage as well as the neighboring roads which prevented some fire-fighting vehicles from accessing the affected areas.
"This is a disaster"
Two rivers in the area overflowed and the roads were filled with mud, according to local authorities. "This is a disaster," Fanis Spanos told Ert public television late in the morning when the weather phenomenon had subsided. Many ground floors were flooded and families had to go up with their children on the terraces of their houses, according to media.
The authorities have mobilized more than a hundred firefighters and two helicopters are helping to rescue those stranded. The port police take part in the rescue operations. "Last year we had fires, this year the floods," lamented Ert a resident of Psahna.
Due to the lack of adequate controls in the building and land use planning sector, flooding following storms is common in Greece. In November 2017, deadly floods killed 24 people in Mandra, a village located in an industrial area 30km west of Athens. Torrents of mud had devastated more than a thousand buildings, homes, shops and warehouses.
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