Athens/Nea Playia, Greece - Six
foreigners including two children were killed and more than 100
other people injured when a violent, short-lived storm lashed
northern Greece overnight, felling trees and ripping off
rooftops.
Witnesses reported the storm had come and gone in a matter
of minutes. Winds of over 100 kph (60 mph) were reported on the
Halkidiki peninsula, popular with tourists in the summer.
Two elderly Czech tourists were killed when strong winds and
water overturned their travel trailer, police said.
A woman and an 8-year-old boy from Romania were killed when
a roof collapsed on a restaurant in the beach resort of Nea
Plagia. And a man and a young boy, both Russians, died when a
tree fell near their hotel in the seaside town of Potidea,
authorities said.
Streets in the area were dotted with uprooted pine trees and
overturned motorcycles, and wooden rooftops had been torn off
and dumped on beaches. A Reuters correspondent saw sun loungers
strewn in mangled heaps with other debris across Nea Plagia's
golden beaches.
Two men search in debris after a storm at Nea Plagia village in Halkidiki region, northern Greece. Picture: Giannis Moisiadis/InTime News via AP
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose government was
sworn in this week after winning elections on July 7, cancelled
his morning schedule and was being continuously briefed, a
government official said.
Debris is seen after a storm on a beach at Vergia village in Halkidiki region, northern Greece. Picture: Giannis Moisiadis/InTime News via AP
Civil Protection Minister Mihalis Chrisochoidis, at the
scene, said Greece was mourning the loss of life, adding: "In
coming days all damage will be repaired."
A man rides a bicycle among debris after a storm at Nea Plagia village in Halkidiki region, northern Greece. Picture: Giannis Moisiadis/InTime News via AP
Such severe storms are unusual in Greece, where summers are
typically hot and dry. But the tragedy had echoes of a wildfire
almost a year ago that raced through the resort of Mati almost
without warning, fanned by hot winds, trapping many inhabitants
before they could flee and killing 100 people.
People look at a damaged restaurant after a storm at Nea Plagia village in Halkidiki region, northern Greece. A child and his mother died when they hit by the outdoor restaurant's lean-to roof that collapsed. Picture: Giannis Moisiadis/InTime News via AP
"It is the first time in my 25-year career that I have lived
through something like this," Athansios Kaltsas, director of the
Nea Moudania Medical Centre, where many of the injured were
treated for fractures, told Greek television.
A car is seen under an outdoor shop's lean-to roof after a storm at Nea Plagia village in Halkidiki region, northern Greece. Picture: Giannis Moisiadis/InTime News via AP
"It was so abrupt, and so sudden."
Kaltsas said patients taken to the clinic ranged in age from
8 months to over 70. Some had head injuries from trees and other
falling objects.
Authorities said around 100 people, mostly tourists, had
been injured, and 23 of those had been admitted to hospital.
There were widespread power cuts.
"Here we dealing with a new situation," geology and natural
disasters expert Efthymios Lekkas told Skai TV. "Climate change
is an accelerated and self-sustaining cycle that creates new
hazards, with increased duration and intensity."