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Floods on the Greek island of Skiathos: Torrential rains flooded streets, houses and shops on the holiday island on Tuesday. The local airport had to close.
Storm Daniel has been raging in western and central Greece since Monday and has triggered hundreds of emergency calls. The port city of Volos has already left the flood behind it – for now.
Vasilis Batsios, self-employed:
"I'm 44 years old and I've never seen anything like it. We know that it rains a lot on Pelion, in Zagora, but here it has never happened before. The river, the torrent, caused all the damage."
Kostas Mitrainas, construction worker:
"I came here in the morning to drink coffee, and the whole place was flooded. I tried like a madman to get away by car."
The masses of water that storm "Daniel" has been pouring out over central Greece since Monday evening have exceeded all forecasts. According to the German Weather Service, up to 1500 litres of rain per square metre could fall locally by Thursday – that would be significantly more than the amount that falls on average per square metre in the whole of Germany over the course of an entire year within just 72 hours.
According to the DWD, even the weather forecast models had problems forecasting – because they are not designed for such extreme precipitation.
A similar picture on the other side of the Aegean Sea, in northwestern Turkey This video released by the government in Kirklareli shows how emergency services with heavy equipment try to rescue people from the floods.
Aerial photographs show the consequences of the rain in two districts of the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul. At least two people have died, according to official figures.
Previously, continuous rain had led to flooding in Spain. The current extreme weather events – are the result of a general weather situation over Europe. Accordingly, there is a pronounced high-pressure area over Germany, around which the air flows, so to speak. Low-pressure systems are forming on its flanks, which hardly move from the spot – and hit southeastern Europe with full force.