Floods cause Evia death, damage
A state of emergency was declared in some parts of the island of Evia, northeast of Athens, on Saturday after flash flooding caused by heavy rain led to one person drowning, hundreds being trapped and widespread damage to homes and businesses. The Civil Protection Authority declared a state of emergency in more than a dozen municipalities on Evia after unseasonably heavy showers early on Saturday led to flooding in various parts of the island. The municipalities of Dirfis and Lilandion appear to have been the worst affected. Firefighters, emergency workers and a team of frogmen with seven rescue boats were sent to the worst affected parts of Evia to help residents escape the floodwaters. A Swedish man had to be rescued by helicopter after becoming trapped in a mobile home in the Oxylithos area in the municipality of Kymi. A 39-year-old policeman serving in Aliveri drowned after his vehicle was swept away by onrushing floodwater as he attempted to cross a bridge in Stomio on his way to begin his shift. Firefighters were able to recover the body of officer Nikolaos Triantafyllou, a father of two. Last night, about 350 people remained stranded in the village of Mistros as the bridges connecting them to the road network had been destroyed. The extent of the damage to the island was not clear but, in addition to homes and businesses, sections of several roads had been washed away. Inspectors from the Evia Prefecture were attempting to assess the damage yesterday as the flooding subsided. Meanwhile, a 17-year-old Pakistani man went missing in the sea off the island of Salamina, near Athens, on Saturday when the small boat he was sailing, along with three other countrymen, capsized in rough seas. The men had been working at a mussel farm on the island.
