At least 11 people have died from the floods, five have disappeared and dozens have been injured Greece, Türkiye and Bulgaria and which have caused enormous damage to houses, roads and infrastructure.
Extreme phenomenon in Greece
In Greece, where until last week the worst forest fires in fifteen years broke out, meteorologists are talking about the most extreme phenomenon the country has experienced since rainfall records began.
In the city of Zagora, 754 liters per square meter were measured within 18 hours, a record value.
Two people have already died in this country. while a man whose vehicle was swept away by a torrent is still missing.
Firefighters even had to use rafts to rescue dozens of trapped people in Volos, a city of 150,000 people and capital of the Magnesia region that was completely flooded.
Most of the city is without electricity and water supply, while the road network is badly damaged throughout the region.
The storm is also affecting the Trikala, Karditsa and Phthiotide regions of central Greece, where authorities have decided to evacuate several towns as a precaution.
At least six dead in Türkiye
At least six people have died in Turkey and two others are still missing. due to the floods affecting different parts of the country, especially the border area with Bulgaria and Istanbul.
In some districts of the Eurasian metropolis, rainfall of up to 130 liters per square meter was recorded in a 24-hour period yesterday, a value that is far from the all-time highs in the country but which experts call “catastrophic”.
“The rain fell especially in the northern part, in the regions between Kırklareli (on the border with Bulgaria) and Istanbul,” Begüm Celikdelen, head of Istanbul’s water supply, told EFE today.
Those rains may help ease the supply crisis Istanbul is experiencing due to the drought, where the swamps had fallen below 30% of their capacity in recent days.
“We are seeing water entering the dams from some small rivers, but how the water level is improving we can measure tomorrow,” Celikdelen said.
Two people died in flash floods in Istanbul. Thousands of houses, several subway stations and a hospital were flooded.
Two bodies of a group of 12 people trapped in a hotel and swept away by the floodwaters were found today in Kırklareli, in the far north-west of Turkey, after two bodies were found yesterday.
Two other people from this group are still missing today.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 31 people across the country were injured by the floods, eight of whom are still in hospital.
In Bulgaria, the number of missing is unknown
A third body was found in Bulgaria today near the municipality of Tsarevo, on the Black Sea coast and near the border with Turkey.
The city’s mayor, Georgi Lapchev, warned last night that there could be more victims since then The number of people missing after a river burst its banks is unknown.
“Nobody has ever seen so much rain in this area. They caused a flood that came very quickly and washed away cars. The water keeps coming back,” said the mayor of Tsarevo.
Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov assured that it was a “natural disaster”. and said that the 300 liters of water per square meter collected in some areas within 24 hours is very rare, reports the novini.bg portal.
Emergency teams are working to clear roads blocked by falling trees or landslides and rocks, and are pumping water from two reservoirs in a controlled manner to prevent overflows.
Firefighters are also emptying the ground floors of private houses and hotels in a heavily touristed area on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
This was announced by Tourism Minister Zaritsa Dinkova after a meeting with the hoteliers About 4,000 people are affected in this area.