Incessant rainstorms wreak havoc in north
After one of the hottest weeks of the year, the skies opened up and drenched central and northern Greece, in particular, over the weekend, prompting floods that destroyed farmland, swept away cars and damaged houses, although no injuries were reported. The city of Xanthi in northeastern Greece was one of the worst-hit areas by rainstorms which continued from Friday into Sunday. Hundreds of hectares of farmland were left under water and some areas were without power yesterday. Some 30 parked cars were washed away by raging flood waters on the northern Aegean island of Thasos – the coast guard was called in to locate some of the vehicles. Trees were uprooted, crops destroyed and livestock drowned, the local mayor said. Around 300 goats also drowned when a river burst its banks in Nea Apollonia, northeast of Thessaloniki. Hailstorms caused extensive damage to tobacco plantations and vineyards in Katerini and smashed the windscreens of a number of cars in Komotini.
