ATHENS
Torrential rains caused floods in Athens and the western suburbs of the capital on Friday.
Flooding was knee-deep in the streets, and the water penetrated houses and shops.
The fire department received more than 600 calls.
The worst flooding was in the western suburbs of Athens. In one of them, Peristeri, cars floated on the torrents and ended up in piles. In Ilion, 30 cars were completely submerged by the floods. Fifteen cars were trapped in the three-storey underground parking lot of a big super market chain.
A high-ranking police official told AA, “luckily no one was trapped in the parking; otherwise we would have had casualties”. It will take all night to clear the water from the parking, he added.
An eye witness on the scene who was watching from his balcony told Anadolu Agency: “We have the same problem every year, but never before to this extent. The flooding happens because most streams are filled with rubble and water doesn’t get through,” he explained.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras who was attending the European Union’s leader summit in Brussels, held an emergency meeting to assess conditions as soon as he came back from his trip on Friday night.
The Prime Minister said that all municipalities affected will be compensated for the damages caused by the flooding.
The Prime Minister added that he will first take into account the areas affected most in order to take action and prepare the cities for future floods. A detailed list of all damages will be registered first thing on Saturday morning in order to be given to the Ministry of Finance, the prime minister added.
www.aa.com.tr/en
