UAE embassy urges citizens in Greece to be cautious due to Storm Daniel

Abu Dhabi: The UAE Embassy in Athens on Wednesday issued an advisory, urging Emirati citizens in Greece to exercise caution due to torrential rains and flooding caused by Storm Daniel.

The embassy underscored the need for citizens to follow the safety guidelines and instructions issued by the relevant authorities in Greece.

It also urged them to contact the embassy in case of emergency at 0097180024 or 0097180044444. The embassy also urged them to register in Tawajudi service to enable its mission staff to communicate with them in cases of emergency.

Landslides, collapsed power poles

Since Monday, Storm Daniel has triggered landslides, destroyed a bridge, caused the collapse of power poles and carried away dozens of cars in muddy waters, days after a two-week deadly wildfire died out in the north.

The body of an elderly woman was recovered close to a seaside community in the southern Pelion area near the port city of Volos on the Pagasetic Gulf on Wednesday, the fire brigade said. It later said that a man was hit by a vehicle in the area of Karditsa, raising the death toll from severe weather in Greece to three.

Greece has said the weather was the most extreme, in terms of rainfall, since records have been kept.

"Yesterday the rainfall was very intense, unprecedented," said Vasilis Batsios, 44, in Volos. "For 24 hours it was nonstop and there was a lot of water, the amount of water was unbelievable." The volume of water that fell in Pelion on Tuesday was equal to annual rainfall in London, meteorologist George Tsatrafyllias said on platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Police on Wednesday issued traffic warnings for the cities of Trikala and Karditsa as the rainstorm was not expected to weaken before Thursday.

Some 158 vehicles and hundreds of emergency crews have been operating in other areas hit by downpours across Greece to help people at risk or with health issues, Kikilias said.