Torrential flooding resulting from intense storms has led to fatalities in Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria, with at least 11 people reported dead. This natural disaster comes as a dramatic shift in weather patterns has replaced extreme heat with heavy rainfall.
In northwestern Turkey, including the city of Istanbul, high waters transformed streets into rushing rivers. In Greece, where the country is still recovering from devastating wildfires, floods have struck the central Magnesia region and its capital city, Volos.
The storm, named Daniel by Greek meteorologists, has been pummeling Greece since Monday. Vassilis Tsalamouras, a 58-year-old resident of Volos, expressed his disbelief, stating, “I have never seen anything like this; thousands of shops and buildings have been flooded in Volos, and no one is here to help us.”
Authorities have reported casualties in the affected regions. An 87-year-old woman was found dead in the village of Paltsi in Magnesia, while a 51-year-old man was discovered dead near Volos after being swept away by floodwaters. The storm has caused widespread damage, leading to power outages and severe destruction of buildings and roads in nearby villages.
The extreme rainfall in Greece follows weeks of devastating wildfires that have ravaged parts of the country. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the situation as an “extreme phenomenon.”
In Istanbul, the heavy downpours come after an unusually dry summer, resulting in water reservoirs falling to nine-year lows. The Istanbul governor’s office reported two deaths due to the flooding.
In northwestern Turkey’s city of Kirklareli, Turkish emergency services have reported four fatalities and two individuals missing due to the floods.
Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast has also experienced the heaviest rainfall in years, resulting in at least three deaths and stranding tourists. Rivers overflowed, causing damage to bridges and cutting off access in the region south of the coastal city of Burgas. Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov emphasized the need for long-term solutions to secure the area, considering the disaster a consequence of climate change and poor infrastructure maintenance.
Flooding, which has been rare in the Black Sea coast area, is becoming increasingly common in Bulgaria, highlighting the impact of climate change on extreme weather events.
