Downpours cause flood damage
Heavy rainfall in Attica and in many other parts of the country over the weekend caused serious flood damage to buildings and farmland. A heavy downpour in Athens on Saturday afternoon flooded dozens of basement homes and stores. The fire department received more than 60 telephone calls from homeowners and shopkeepers asking that their premises be drained of floodwater. The districts of Pangrati, Vyronas, Kaisariani and Hymettus were the worst affected by the bad weather. The Badminton Theater in Goudi, northeast of the city center, suffered serious flood damage with water in the former Olympic venue rising to 50 centimeters. The theater is not due to host any performances until the fall but activities scheduled for its open-air section have been canceled. In central Greece, heavy rain developed into a hailstone shower which caused serious damage to hundreds of hectares of farmland. The area of Trikala was particularly badly affected, with several melon, cotton and tobacco fields destroyed. Prefectural officials estimated that some 300 hectares of land were razed. Government officials are to visit the area and conduct their own assessment of the damage today.
