Floods in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria: five dead from heavy rain

"On Tuesday, heavy rains raged in Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria, causing floods that killed at least five people, including two vacationers swept away by a fast river at a campsite in northwestern Turkey."

The Minister of Interior Affairs of Turkey, Ali Erlikaya, stated that four more people have gone missing after a flood swept through a campsite in the province of Kırklareli, near the border with Bulgaria. He reported that there were about12 vacationers at the campsite when the waters engulfed it. According to the minister, search teams have already found two bodies. "The search and rescue operation for the missing (four) continues without interruption," he added.

Television footage showed rescuers helping a young girl and an adult get out of the water, which reached waist level in some areas. The heavy rains also damaged and forced the closure of the main road, reported HaberTurk television.

In Greece, the police have banned movement in the central city of Volos, in the mountainous region of Pilion, and on the resort island of Skiathos due to record rainfall that has caused at least one death, flooded streets with streams of water, and swept away cars. The fire department reported that a man died near Volos when a wall collapsed on him. Five people are missing, possibly swept away by the flood. Authorities sent warnings via mobile phones in several other areas of central Greece, on the Sporades islands, and on the island of Evia, urging people to limit their movement outdoors. Streams overflowed and carried cars into the sea in the Pilion area, while landslides blocked roads, a small bridge was destroyed, and many areas were left without electricity.

Greek Minister for Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias stated that the heavy rains are expected to ease after noon on Wednesday and urged residents of the affected areas to stay indoors. "According to meteorologists' forecasts, this is the most extreme event in terms of maximum daily rainfall since records began," he said, adding that in one part of Pilion, 6.45 centimeters (2.5 inches) of rain had fallen by early afternoon. Kikilias warned that rainfall is expected to intensify later on Tuesday and again on Wednesday morning after a brief lull overnight.

This storm comes against the backdrop of large-scale summer wildfires that have engulfed Greece over the past few weeks, lasting more than two weeks and destroying vast areas of forest and farmland. More than 20 people have died in the fires. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis blames both the wildfires and the storms on climate change, acknowledging that his government "clearly did not cope with how we wanted" in fighting the fires. "I'm afraid that the carefree summers we once knew... will no longer exist, and now the coming summers are likely to be increasingly difficult," he said on Tuesday.

In Bulgaria, Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov reported that two people have died and three are missing after a storm caused flooding along the southern Black Sea coast. Overflowing rivers severely damaged roads and bridges. The area also experienced power supply issues, and authorities warned residents not to drink tap water due to contamination from the floods. Strong winds created 2-meter waves that swept over the beaches of tourist resorts during the downpours, flooding streets and homes. Television footage showed cars and mobile homes being washed out to sea in the hardest-hit southern resort town of Tsarevo. Authorities declared a state of emergency in Tsarevo and urged people to move to upper floors, as the ground floors of some hotels were flooded.