Strong rains, winds topple trees; shipping affected

The strong rains and winds across several parts of Greece felled trees and caused power outages.

Among the hardest hit areas were some of Athens’ northern suburbs.

In the municipality of Filothei-Psychiko more than 40 trees were toppled and some streets remain closed to traffic, state broadcaster ERT reported.

The Fire Service has got several calls about people trapped in elevators because of power outages. Firemen were also called to drain floodwaters from homes.

Strong winds also hit the northern Athens suburbs of Maroussi, Pefki and Lykovryssi.

Fire Service spokesman Yiannis Artopoios said the Attica region seemed to be the hardest hit by what he called a “dynamic phenomenon,” noting that rainfall was brief but intense in most places. He added that the region of Western Greece has also been hit.

“We have had 115 calls for assistance (in Attica) and had to cut 95 trees,” that were in danger of toppling, Artopoios said. There have been 337 emergency calls to the Fire Service around the country, he said.

Storms are still occurring and people should avoid walking near trees, Artopoios said in an interview to ERT.

Strong winds have also affected passenger shipping. In Attica, passenger ships were not allowed to sail from the ports of Piraeus, Lavrio and Rafina.

Trees also toppled in Central and Western Macedonia, including in the city of Thessaloniki, the country’s second largest.