NEWS

One dead after torrential rain causes major floods in Attica [update]

An unprecedented rainstorm caused widespread flooding on Friday and led to the death of a 28-year-old female motorist.

The woman was found slumped over the steering wheel of her car which had stalled on a flooded road on the border of Halandri and Maroussi. She was transferred to hospital where doctors confirmed her death, apparently from a heart attack.

The rainfall, which started in the early hours of the morning, flooded several roads with the areas of Aegaleo, Nikaia, Haidari and Peristeri in the western suburbs among the worst hit. A derelict building in the rundown central district of Aghios Panteleimonas collapsed, apparently due to the heavy rain, but there were no injuries. The fire service received more than 400 calls to pump out flooded basements or rescue stranded vehicles.

The rivers of Ilissos and Pivrodafni both broke their banks with witnesses reporting seeing parked cars being swept away in the Pikrodafni River.

Several roads were closed off including Pireos Street due to heavy flooding at the Hamosternas junction, NATO Avenue near Aspropyrgos, Dimokratias Street and coastal Poseidonos Avenue near the junction with Syggrou Avenue. The Athens-Corinth national highway was flooded at the Skaramanga junction and parts of Piraeus, Drapetsona and Kalamaki were also badly affected with several reports of people trapped in their cars.

The flooding caused problems with the operation of the Athens tram and led to many buses being taken off the roads. There were some disruptions with ferry travel.

Flooding at electricity substations in Terpsithea and Korydallos caused power cuts early in the morning but power had been widely restored shortly after 10 a.m.

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