Heavy rainstorms have devastated neighboring countries Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria, causing at least five deaths and widespread destruction. In Turkey, a flash flood swept over a campsite near the border with Bulgaria, killing two holidaymakers and leaving four others missing. The torrential rain caused flooding and landslides, damaging roads and homes in Istanbul, where two people were killed, and forcing the closure of a main road.
In Greece, the rains triggered severe flooding, causing at least one death and leaving five people missing. The town of Volos was particularly hard hit, with traffic banned and streams overflowing their banks, sweeping cars into the sea. Authorities issued mobile phone alerts warning people to stay indoors, as power cuts and rockfalls blocked roads and bridges.
Greece’s minister for civil protection, Vassilis Kikilias, described the storms as the most extreme event since record-keeping started, with 6.45cm of rain falling in just a few hours in the Pilion area. The storms were forecast to ease later in the day, but the minister urged people to stay indoors as the rains were expected to intensify again overnight.
Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov (Via Nikolay Denkov/Twitter)
In Bulgaria, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said two people died and three others were missing after a storm caused floods on the country’s southern Black Sea coast. Overflowing rivers caused severe damage to roads and bridges, and authorities urged residents not to drink tap water due to contamination from floodwater.
The storms come on the heels of major summer wildfires that devastated Greece, killing over 20 people and destroying vast tracts of forest and farmland. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis blamed both the wildfires and storms on climate change, while conceding that his government could have done better in managing the wildfires.
Residents of the affected areas are still reeling from the devastation, with many left homeless or struggling to recover from the floods and landslides. The storms are a sobering reminder of the impact of climate change and the importance of taking action to mitigate its effects.
