Schools and kindergartens were closed on several Greek islands, including Paros and Mykonos, on Tuesday after torrential rain, flooding and hailstorms battered the Aegean Sea.
Authorities in Paros worked to remove vehicles stranded by muddy floodwaters after heavy rainfall hit the island late on Monday. Paros, a popular summer tourist destination, faced significant damage.
“Roads have been damaged and we need help with more machinery to clear the streets,” Paros Mayor Costas Bizas told public broadcaster ERT. “All this catastrophe happened in two hours.”
The severe weather continued into the early morning hours, with Mykonos experiencing hailstorms that blanketed grasslands with ice. Civil protection authorities ordered the closure of schools on Mykonos and other islands, including Syros, Symi, Kalymnos and Kos.
Greece has faced frequent flooding in recent years, with scientists linking the extreme weather to rising global temperatures and warming waters.
In 2023, a devastating rainstorm, the worst in nearly a century, killed 17 people and caused widespread damage across Greece’s central Thessaly region.
