Medicane Ianos Pounds Central Greece, Ionian Islands; Crops Flattened, Towns Flooded
After pounding parts of western and central Greece meteorologists have predicted a rare Mediterranean hurricane-like storm, or medicane, is headed south towards the island of Crete. Authorities struggling to contain the impact of the cyclone, Medicane Ianos, said two people had died and at least one was missing as torrential rain and gale-force winds wielded a trail of destruction.
From the western Peloponnese and Ionian isles, where widespread flooding and power cuts spurred the government to declare a state of emergency on Friday, the storm swept through central Thessaly, uprooting trees, downing bridges and blocking roads. An estimated 5,000 properties were said to have been flooded in the city of Karditsa alone. Emergency services reported receiving over 2,500 calls for assistance from people trapped in flooded homes and cars. The Greek fire service said it had rescued almost 1,000 people. In Trikala, a man survived by clinging to a log to escape being overwhelmed by the gushing waters of a stream.
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The cyclone, a byproduct of the climate emergency according to experts, struck the greater Athens region of Attica early on Saturday although there were no reports of damage. By the afternoon Greece’s deputy civil protection minister, Nikos Hardalias, said it appeared to be headed south and was likely to pummel Arcadia, Leonidio and Argolis in the Peloponnese before moving on to the island of Kythera and Crete.
Weather forecasters said the hurricane was expected to pick up speed as it crossed the sea. Warmer sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean would also make it easier for wind speeds to become more intense. Tropical-style storms in the region are rare but predicted to increase, along with other extreme weather events, on account of climate change.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/19/deadly-mediterranean-hurricane-ianos-hits-central-greece