Heavy rain causes widespread floods in Greece
Source: Reuters
By George Hatzidakis ATHENS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Flash floods caused by heavy rain swept through dozens of northern Greek villages for a second day on Tuesday damaging hundreds of homes, washing away roads and bridges and forcing rescue teams to airlift isolated villagers. The government declared a state of emergency for devastated regions in central and northern Greece and said it will provide financial assistance to help people recover after losing property, farmland and their livelihood. "There will be immediate recompense for all damaged households," Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis said after touring damaged regions late on Monday. "Flooded areas have been declared to be in a state of emergency so that they can receive the full benefit of the law." But more rain throughout the night exacerbated the problems. The heaviest damage was recorded near the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest, which received more rain in the 24-hour period from Sunday than it regularly does in the whole month of October, Greek media reported. Sections of national highways and bridges were washed away, effectively isolating dozens of villages and towns in the nearby Halkidiki area. Rail lines connecting the central Greek cities of Larisa and Volos were also washed away by the flood waters. Greece on Tuesday allocated a total of about 2 million euros in emergency assistance to flood-hit areas.Flights at Athens International airport were also affected earlier this morning as state carrier Olympic Airlines cancelled 14 scheduled flights to northern Greek towns as well as its Thessaloniki to London flights. Services had returned to normal, the airline said. The floods in northern Greece come just two months after the region suffered its worst-ever spate of fires which destroyed about 50,000 hectares of forests.
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