Six people have been killed and dozens more have been injured after tornadoes and violent hailstorms hit the Halkidiki peninsula. The victims, including two children, were tourists visiting Greece.
Image: Reuters/Staff
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Six people died and many more were injured in storms that hit northern Greece, state broadcaster ERT reported early on Thursday.
Tourists from the Czech Republic, Romania and Russia were among those who died in the storms. Two of the victims were children.
Dozens of people were injured after strong winds swept across the northeastern peninsula of Halkidiki, leaving destruction behind that included uprooted trees, collapsed roofs and overturned vehicles.
"It is the first time in my 25-year career that I have lived through something like this," said Athansios Kaltsas, director of the Nea Moudania Medical Centre, where many of the injured were receiving treatment.
"It was so abrupt, and so sudden," he added.
Fierce storms have struck the beloved tourist destination of Halkidiki in Greece. In just 10 minutes, high winds were able to leave behind massive devastation.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Thestival.gr
Out of nowhere
A heavy hailstorm and a tornado surprised thousands of tourists on the northern Greek peninsula of Halkidiki. Power went out, trees fell, and bricks and dumpsters flew through the air.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Thestival.gr
Many injured
More than 60 people were injured bexcause of the storm, many from "chairs, bricks, dumpsters, and other objects flying through the area," according to Athanassios Kaltsas, the chief of the medical center in the small town of Moudania.
For at least six tourists, the storm came to a deadly end. These were the result of collapsed roofs and fallen trees. The victims came from Romania, Russia, and Czechia. Halkidiki is frequented by many eastern European visitors.
Image: Reuters/Staff
Emergency delcared
Civil defense chief Charalambos Stergiadis gave a televised statement: "I have never experienced winds so strong." Firefighters responded to at least 500 calls from people in need. The Greek Defense Ministry has sent soldiers with generators and clean-up equipment to the area.
Image: Reuters/A. Konstantinidis
"Unheard of phenomenon"
According to eye witnesses, the storm lasted only 10 minutes. Yet it was so strong that trees were torn out at the roots, landslides began, and cars were even blown into the air. Charalambos Stergiadis called it an "unheard-of phenomenon."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Moisiadis
Rare weather pattern
Greek meteorologists spoke of two cyclones melding together before sweeping through the area. This phenomenon is rare and develops only in close proximity to the sea. Until the late evening, the area was experiencing high temperatures of up to 40 degrees C (104 F). The heat allowed for a great deal of seawater to evaporate, allowing the cyclones to gather steam.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Thestival.gr
Italy also affected
Where exactly these storms strike is hard to predict. The storms in Greece came after days of extreme heat. A similar storm hit Italy, particularly on the Adriatic coast. Witnesses there described "hail stones as big as oranges."
Image: Reuters/Staff
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Six who died were all tourists
Two of the victims were elderly Czech tourists who were killed when strong winds and water destroyed their camper van, according to police.
A woman and an 8-year-old boy, both Romanian nationals, were killed after a roof caved in at a restaurant in Nea Plagia.
Two Russian nationals, one of whom was a boy, also perished after a tree collapsed near their hotel in the coastal town of Potidea, authorities confirmed.
"Six tourists were killed and at least 30 people were injured during this cyclone," Charalambos Steriadis, head of civil protection in northern Greece, said.
Steriadis added that Halkidiki had declared a state of emergency.
Weather of this kind is not the norm in Greece at this time of year, when it is typically hot and dry. Meteorologist Klearxos Marousakis described the conditions as "extremely unusual."
Indeed, the tornadoes and hailstorms that caused the destruction came after a period of hot weather, with temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
