Heavy rain causes flooding in northwestern Greece

Many parts of northwestern Greece sustained floods, rockfalls and other damage as heavy rain and gale-force winds swept into Greece on Monday, ending a spell of clear skies and unseasonably warm temperatures.

The Civil Protection Authority had to roll out earth-moving machines first thing on Tuesday morning to clear streams and roads in the northwestern towns of Ioannina and Arta of rocks and debris, while the fire service was called in to the village of Pramata in the Tzoumerka region to clear blocked culverts and reverse flooding.

In the village of Theodoriana on the outskirts of Arta, dozens of homes were damaged on Monday as a mini-tornado with wind speeds of 93.3 kilometers per hour ripped off roof tiles and chimneys, while also dumping 103 millimeters of rain per hour on the settlement, according to the National Observatory of Athens' Meteo weather service.

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