Severe storm batters Greece, triggering floods, landslides

Severe flooding, landslides, and infrastructure damage were reported across Greece on Thursday as a powerful storm system named Byron swept through the country, bringing heavy rain, thunderstorms, and gale-force winds.



The Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece was among the hardest-hit regions, with extensive flooding in Laconia, where homes and farmland were submerged and key roads leading to the regional center of Sparta were cut off, Greek national broadcaster ERT reported. Authorities deployed heavy machinery to keep major routes open, but continuous rainfall triggered landslides and raised concerns over potential river overflows.



On Crete, Greece's largest island, intense rainfall caused road closures, landslides, and infrastructure damage, particularly in southern districts. In Heraklion, the island's main city, ground erosion caused part of a street to collapse, sending a vehicle into a construction pit. No injuries were reported, and local authorities opened temporary shelters for homeless residents.