A street flooded after heavy rain in a Greek town (file photo). Photo: Annatsach / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Red Warnings for 28 October as Storms Flood Attica Streets

by · Greek City Times

Greece’s weather service has issued red warnings for parts of the country on Wednesday 28 October, the national “Ochi Day” holiday, after storms turned streets into rivers in Attica and authorities put nine areas on full alert.

The Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY) on Monday upgraded its weather bulletin to an emergency bulletin for dangerous weather. It forecasts heavy rain and thunderstorms, with local hail, mainly in eastern Greece, from Monday 26 October until at least Wednesday 28 October, according to the updated bulletin.

Where the red warnings apply

On Monday, the Dodecanese was under a red warning until late in the evening.

Tuesday 27 October brings a lull in some areas, with orange warnings for Attica until the morning, Evia and the Sporades, the Dodecanese from midday, the eastern Aegean islands, and Magnesia and Larissa in Thessaly from the evening.

Read more: Severe Weather Across Greece: Storms and Winds Up to 10 Beaufort

The weather is forecast to worsen again on Wednesday. EMY has issued red warnings for:

  • Magnesia and Larissa, until late at night
  • the Sporades and Evia, until late in the evening
  • the Dodecanese

Attica is under an orange warning on Wednesday from the early hours until midday, as are the eastern Aegean islands and eastern Central Greece (mainly Fthiotida and Viotia), Kathimerini reported.

Red Code until Thursday

After meetings of the Risk Assessment Committee and the Civil Protection Coordinating Body, attended by Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Evangelos Tournas, the General Secretariat for Civil Protection placed nine areas on “Red Code” mobilisation from Monday 26 to Thursday 29 October, the ministry announced.

They are Evia, Fthiotida, Viotia, the Sporades, Magnesia, Larissa and the Dodecanese, plus the whole regions of Attica and the North Aegean. Attica and the North Aegean were included as a precaution because the ground was already soaked from earlier rain, the ministry said.

The Fire Service has activated its flood response plan, while the armed forces, police and Coast Guard are on standby. Tournas stressed the need for readiness ahead of the heavy holiday traffic around 28 October.

The Risk Assessment Committee expects the weather to ease on Tuesday, with rain and local storms in eastern and southern Greece, before a fresh deterioration on Wednesday, mainly in eastern Thessaly, the Northern Sporades, eastern Central Greece, Evia and Skyros. The committee is due to meet again on Tuesday.

Flooded streets across Attica

The storms hit Attica hard on Sunday night. Streets in Mandra and Glyfada turned into torrents and Traffic Police closed Karamanli Avenue in Voula towards Piraeus, between Vasileos Pavlou Street and Kritis Square, because of the build-up of water. The road later reopened.

On Monday, flooding on Poseidonos Avenue in Palaio Faliro left traffic squeezed into one lane, and there were kilometres-long queues on Kifisou, Vouliagmenis and Alimou-Katechaki avenues citing Traffic Police. Roads also flooded in Koropi.

Weather stations of the National Observatory of Athens and meteo.gr recorded 104 millimetres of rain at Lofos Chasani in Elliniko and 96mm in Koropi over Sunday and Monday, up to 5.50pm Monday. The highest total in the country was 133mm at Amoni Sofikou in Corinthia.

On Sunday night, during the downpour, three members of one family died when their car went into the sea at the port of Piraeus. The cause is under investigation.

Schools shut on Kos

On Kos, Mayor Theodosis Nikitaras ordered all schools, kindergartens and childcare centres to stay shut on Tuesday 27 October, and the municipality urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel, Schools across Greece are closed on Wednesday for the national holiday.

Wet weather for the parades

Wednesday’s deterioration comes as towns across Greece prepare to hold student and military parades for the anniversary.

Meteorologist Theodoros Kolydas noted that the main forecasting models differ widely on how much rain will fall in Thessaly on the day, with maximum totals of 249.8mm in ICON-EU, 102.8mm in ECMWF and 48.4mm in GFS. He urged the public to rely on EMY’s official warnings, Parapolitika reported.

Anyone in the affected areas should follow updates from EMY and Civil Protection and the instructions of local authorities. In an emergency, call 112.

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