Greece Issues Red Alert for Seven Regions as Storm Erminio Approaches

Greece's General Secretariat for Civil Protection placed seven regions on Red Code alert on Tuesday as storm Erminio was forecast to bring heavy rain, gale-force winds, and snowfall to most of the country on Wednesday, April 1, and Thursday, April 2, 2026. Secretary General Nikos Papaefstathiou convened the Risk Assessment Committee following an updated emergency bulletin from the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, which warned of prolonged and intense rainfall, thunderstorms, possible hailstorms, and heavy mountain snowfall. The regions placed on Red Code were Attica, Central Greece, Thessaly including the Sporades, Peloponnese, and South Aegean, as well as the regional units of Imathia and Pieria. The National Crisis Management and Coordination Center contacted local and regional authorities to ensure operational readiness ahead of the storm's arrival.

Attica schools stay open, but night classes cancelled Attica Regional Governor Nikos Hardalias announced that primary and secondary schools across the region would operate normally on Wednesday, April 1, while night schools throughout the Attica basin would remain closed. Hardalias said the decision was taken "with respect to family planning" following the Risk Assessment Committee meeting convened by the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection. He urged parents to reconsider afternoon activities, tutoring centers, and extracurricular programs during the critical hours, and called on the Ministry of Education to ensure the timely departure of students from all-day schools. He also called on relevant ministries to postpone or cancel school trips to and from areas under red alert. „Prevention is not an exaggeration — it is responsibility. And the safety of our children is not a matter of luck. It is a matter of choice.” — Nikos Hardalias via iefimerida.gr In contrast to Attica, the Governor of the South Aegean, Georgios Hadjimarkos, ordered the closure of all school units in the Cyclades and the Dodecanese, including Rhodes and Megisti, on Wednesday. The municipality of Megisti also decided to suspend school operations on Thursday, April 2, for precautionary reasons.

Wind convergence threatens Attica with up to 90mm of rain Meteorologist Giorgos Tsatrafyllias warned of a phenomenon of wind convergence in Attica, where northeasterly and southeasterly winds meeting in the lower layers of the atmosphere would force air upward, triggering thunderstorm cloud formation and persistent rainfall. Forecast data indicated rainfall totals of between 30 and 90 millimetres for Attica on Wednesday, with the northern and eastern parts of the prefecture expected to be most affected. Tsatrafyllias cautioned that if a significant portion of that rainfall arrived in short bursts at intensities of 20 to 40 millimetres per hour, the risk of urban flooding, stream overflow, and road network disruption would increase substantially. 10 (Beaufort) — maximum forecast wind force in the Dodecanese Winds of force 7 to 9 on the Beaufort scale were forecast for eastern Greece, reaching force 10 locally in the Dodecanese. Heavy snowfall was expected in the mountainous areas of Epirus and Macedonia, while elevated concentrations of African dust were also forecast, particularly in the south and southeast of the country.

Storm Erminio — forecast sequence: — ; — ; —

Greek foreign minister postpones Libya trip over storm warnings The storm's impact extended beyond domestic preparedness, with Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis postponing a planned visit to Tripoli, Libya, scheduled for March 31, due to the extreme weather warnings. Authorities across all Red Code regions called on municipalities to immediately convene their Local and Regional Operational Coordinating Bodies of Civil Protection. Citizens in areas at risk of landslides were advised to exercise particular caution and avoid travel during the most intense phases of the storm. Drivers were reminded of the legal obligation to carry anti-skid equipment in their vehicles where required. The General Secretariat for Civil Protection indicated that the Erminio system was expected to develop into an extensive and intense weather episode, with phenomena showing significant duration and intensity across many parts of the country over the two-day period.

Greece is regularly affected by Mediterranean storm systems, particularly in autumn and spring, when warm sea surface temperatures and atmospheric instability can produce intense rainfall events. The Attica basin, which includes the greater Athens metropolitan area, is particularly vulnerable to flash flooding due to its dense urban development and the limited capacity of its drainage infrastructure. Past severe weather events in Greece have caused significant loss of life and property damage, underscoring the importance of early warning systems and coordinated civil protection responses. The General Secretariat for Civil Protection was established in 1995 and operates under the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection.