Storm Erminio Batters Greece: One Dead and Dozens of Homes Flooded Across the Country

Storm Erminio killed one man and flooded dozens of homes across Greece over a three-day period ending Thursday, April 2, as gale-force winds, heavy rain, and a mass of Saharan dust disrupted transport and forced school closures across multiple regions. Greek fire brigade officials confirmed the recovery of the body of a man in his fifties in Nea Makri, a seaside town 35 kilometres northeast of Athens, after he was swept away by a torrent and trapped under a car while attempting to cross a flooded street. A neighbor who witnessed the scene described the chaos to the Greek daily Ethnos. „It was shortly after midnight, it was chaos on the road. The water exceeded half a meter and was rising with incredible force, overturning three parked cars. The firefighters had already arrived, called by neighbors whose basements were flooded” — Witness via Ouest France The same witness described how rescuers discovered the victim. „Something that looked like clothes appeared under the wheels of a car. We approached and saw the man trapped between the wheels, completely submerged” — Witness via Ouest France The fire brigade received nearly 500 emergency calls in the greater Athens area alone since the storm began, covering rescues of people trapped in floodwater and the clearing of roads blocked by fallen trees. Civil protection authorities sent SMS alerts urging residents and tourists to restrict their movements and remain indoors as much as possible.

Saharan dust turns Aegean skies orange and red Alongside the flooding, a large concentration of Saharan dust carried by winds of up to force 9 on the Beaufort scale turned skies an eerie orange and red over Crete and the Cyclades islands of Santorini, Naxos, and Mykonos. The dust severely restricted visibility, forcing the diversion and cancellation of multiple flights. At least ten flights to Rhodes were canceled or diverted on Wednesday, and several flights bound for Crete were redirected to airports on Corfu or in Athens. By Thursday, air traffic had largely returned to normal, according to multiple reports. The EMY warned that African dust concentrations would increase further on Thursday, particularly over Crete, the Cyclades, and the Dodecanese. Ferry services from the port of Piraeus were suspended on Wednesday, cutting off a critical transport link for the country's island communities. An elevated severe weather warning remained in effect for Crete as of Thursday.

Bridge destroyed on Poros, ravine opens near Athens Infrastructure damage was reported across several areas, with flooding destroying a bridge on the island of Poros near the Peloponnese coast. In Kallitechnoupoli, east of Athens, a road collapsed near the Agia Paraskevi stream, splitting in two and forming what local media described as a real ravine. On the island of Rhodes, the fire department responded to more than 50 incidents, primarily involving fallen trees, with power lines, street lamps, and boats also damaged. Schools were closed in East Attica, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and Crete as authorities sought to limit exposure to the dangerous conditions. Early on Thursday, crews were still removing debris, pumping water from flooded buildings, and repairing damaged infrastructure east of the capital. The storm swept through Athens and several Aegean islands on Wednesday, with the southern Aegean and the greater Athens region bearing the brunt of the damage.

500 (emergency calls) — Fire brigade calls in greater Athens since storm began

Storm Erminio in Greece: — ; — ; — ; —

More rain forecast before conditions ease on Friday The EMY forecast further severe weather for Thursday across most of Greece, predicting intense and persistent rain, thunderstorms, and a risk of localized hail, particularly in the north and northeast of the country, with conditions spreading to the southwest and Crete from midday. The storm front was not expected to weaken until Friday, which coincides with Good Friday in the Orthodox calendar. Greece has experienced a pattern of destructive floods and wildfires in recent years, which analysts attribute to a rapidly warming climate, according to Reuters. Greece sits at Europe's southernmost tip and has faced increasingly severe weather events in recent years. The country's geography, with hundreds of inhabited islands and extensive coastlines, makes it particularly vulnerable to storm disruption, especially to ferry and air transport. Analysts cited by Reuters have linked the growing frequency and intensity of such events to climate change. The combination of flooding and Saharan dust in the same weather system made Storm Erminio an unusually complex emergency for Greek authorities to manage simultaneously. Authorities were continuing repair and cleanup operations east of Athens as of Thursday morning, with no confirmed additional fatalities beyond the one death in Nea Makri.