A ferocious storm system has hammered Greece, leaving two people dead and causing widespread flooding across the capital as gale-force winds and torrential rain paralyzed transport networks.
A 56-year-old woman was killed in the southern Athens suburb of Glyfada after being struck by a vehicle that had been swept away by raging floodwaters. In the eastern Peloponnese, a 53-year-old Coast Guard officer died at the port of Astros Kynourias.
Authorities said the officer sustained fatal head injuries after being dragged into the sea by high waves while attempting to secure a small vessel in the harbor.
The "Category 5" storm, dubbed a "dangerous weather cocktail" by meteorologists, triggered a Red Code emergency alert across six regions, including Attica.
The Fire Service received more than 600 emergency calls by Thursday morning, primarily to pump water from flooded homes and businesses in Athens and to rescue motorists trapped in rising waters.
Heavy snowfall blanketed mountainous areas, including Mount Parnitha near the capital, while gale-force winds forced a sailing ban that grounded ferries nationwide.
Schools in affected regions remained closed as a precaution. Forecasters expect the extreme weather front to shift eastward on Thursday, targeting the islands of the eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese before gradually subsiding.