Evia hiker missing as stormy weather grips Greece

The search for a missing hiker on Mount Dirfi resumed at first light on Thursday morning on the island of Evia after a stormy night that saw the emergency services receive dozens of calls for assistance.

The Fire Service said the 36-year-old man called its emergency line on Wednesday night to say he had lost his bearings in the storm and was trying to make his way to the Dirfi refuge. The search parties dispatched since the call was made have been unable to locate the hiker, and a helicopter joined the effort on Thursday morning.

In Athens meanwhile, fallen trees and branches caused delays on the ISAP electric railway, but service resumed as normal after the obstructions on the Moschato and Kallithea sections of the line were cleared.

The Fire Service also said that it had to help five motorists on Stamata Avenue in northern Athens who became trapped when roads flooded, as well as receiving dozens of calls from different parts of the capital to pump water out of flooded basements and remove broken tree branches. The problems were reportedly most acute in the suburbs of Moschato, Lykovrisi, Nea Ionia, Filothei, Dionysos, Agia Paraskevi and Haidari.

Similar problems were reported in Central Macedonia and Thessaly, in northern and central Greece, respectively.

The national weather service, EMY, said that the stormy weather – with strong showers and winds – will continue for much of Thursday in Macedonia, Thessaly and across eastern parts of the country, but is expected to abate quickly.

The southern Ionian, western Peloponnese, Crete and the Cycladic and Dodecanese islands should expect rain, which may be strong in parts.

Winds will also remain quite strong, especially at sea, with speeds in the southern Aegean reaching as high as 9 Beaufort, while temperatures, which plunged across the country overnight, are expected to return to more seasonal levels by Friday.