A man in his 50s has been found dead under a car in the Nea Makri area of Athens after Storm Erminio brought gale-force winds and floods to Greece. The fire department reported that he had left his flooded basement flat and was swept away by the waters.
The storm has caused widespread flooding, closed some schools, and disrupted flights. On Crete, a Saharan dust storm turned the sky red-orange, reducing visibility to around 1,000 metres and forcing at least two flights to divert. A British Airways service from London was rerouted to Corfu, while a SKY Express flight from Brussels was sent to Athens.
National weather service EMY issued a red warning for severe weather, forecasting prolonged rain, thunderstorms, and possible hailstorms in most parts of Greece. Red alerts are in place for eastern Peloponnese, Central Greece, Evia, Thessaly, the Sporades Islands, Attica, and the Dodecanese, with an orange warning for the Cyclades and eastern Aegean islands.
On Crete, a red warning is in effect from midday until late Thursday, mainly in the west and south. Three flights headed to Iraklio were rerouted. The fire departments on Rhodes and Kos received dozens of calls about flooding, fallen trees, and damaged power cables.
Dramatic scenes included a tornado flipping a truck in Pachia Ammos, and huge waves surging into houses in Ierapetra. Authorities expect the dust to begin clearing later today. Temperatures are forecast to drop to 9°C inland, 11°C along the coast, and 5°C in the highest mountains.
