A photo shows a damaged car in the town of Mandra, northwest of Athens, on November 15, 2017, after heavy overnight rainfall in the area caused damage and left seven people dead. At least seven people died on November 15 and more were missing after a strong overnight downpour flooded three towns in Greece, officials said. The flooding struck the towns of Mandra, Nea Peramos and Megara, a semi-rural area west of Athens where many factories and warehouses are based. / AFP PHOTO / VALERIE GACHE
Camera IconA photo shows a damaged car in the town of Mandra, northwest of Athens, on November 15, 2017, after heavy overnight rainfall in the area caused damage and left seven people dead. At least seven people died on November 15 and more were missing after a strong overnight downpour flooded three towns in Greece, officials said. The flooding struck the towns of Mandra, Nea Peramos and Megara, a semi-rural area west of Athens where many factories and warehouses are based. / AFP PHOTO / VALERIE GACHE Credit: AFP

Deadly floods hit Athens coastal sea towns of Nea Peramos and Mandra in Greece

AP, AAPNews Corp Australia

FLASH floods have killed at least 15 people, made scores homeless and destroyed infrastructure in Greece after a raging torrent inundated two coastal towns west of Athens following a night of heavy rain.

Greece declared a day of national mourning after the floods flipped over cars, smashing into homes and cutting off highway traffic.

A damaged car is stuck at the entrance of a house, in a flooded street of Mandra, northwest of Athens.
Camera IconA damaged car is stuck at the entrance of a house, in a flooded street of Mandra, northwest of Athens. Credit: AFP

The flash floods turned roads into raging torrents of mud and debris inundated houses and businesses. Drivers scrambled out of their vehicles as cars were washed away.

Rescue crews searched basement homes for residents who may have been trapped.

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In devastation locals said was unprecedented in scale, an overnight deluge triggered flash floods in the industrial towns of Nea Peramos and Mandra in the foothills of a mountain just west of Athens.

Bystanders and rescue personnel look at vehicles submerged in floodwaters on a highway near Eleusina, southwest of Athens after heavy overnight rainfall in the area caused damage and left 15 people dead. /
Camera IconBystanders and rescue personnel look at vehicles submerged in floodwaters on a highway near Eleusina, southwest of Athens after heavy overnight rainfall in the area caused damage and left 15 people dead. / Credit: AFP

And that’s not all. More torrential rain is expected.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared a period of national mourning.

“These are very difficult moments for Greece. We are living a great disaster,” he said in a state address.

Car wreckages are piled up in a flooded street of Mandra, northwest of Athens.
Camera IconCar wreckages are piled up in a flooded street of Mandra, northwest of Athens. Credit: AFP

“Immediately and without delay support measures will be adopted for households and businesses affected,” he said, without going into details.

Torrential rain of this type is uncommon in Greece, where poor infrastructure can leave citizens vulnerable to flooding. It has been raining steadily for about a week, and the country’s met office issued a new severe weather warning for Thursday.

Car wreckages are piled up in a flooded street of Mandra, northwest of Athens.
Camera IconCar wreckages are piled up in a flooded street of Mandra, northwest of Athens. Credit: AFP

Some residents were forced on to rooftops and balconies while cars were thrust on to porches of homes, rammed like dodgem vehicles into tree trunks or tipped on to their side.

“This is a biblical disaster,” Mandra Mayor Yianna Krikouki told state broadcaster ERT. “Everything is gone.”

Twelve of the people killed — four women and eight men — were found in or near Mandra, a small town on the western outskirts of Athens that was hardest-hit by the flood.

Medics carry the body of an elderly woman in the municipality of Mandra western Athens.
Camera IconMedics carry the body of an elderly woman in the municipality of Mandra western Athens. Credit: AP

The coast guard recovered the bodies of two more men believed to have been swept out to sea by the flood.

Floodwater carrying debris charged toward the coast, sinking fishing boats in a small harbour. Several people were being treated in a hospital for various injuries, including hypothermia.

There were fears the death toll could rise further as rescue crews searched flooded homes and streets on the western outskirts of Athens.

People are reflected in the front window of a flooded bus as water engulfs an interchange of a highway in Elefsina, western Athens.
Camera IconPeople are reflected in the front window of a flooded bus as water engulfs an interchange of a highway in Elefsina, western Athens. Credit: AP

The flooding came after a severe overnight storm brought driving rain to the area. Roads turned into muddy rivers that carried away vehicles, tossing them into piles on roadsides and against fences and buildings. Several walls from yards and low buildings collapsed, filling the streets with rubble.

A photo shows a damaged car in the town of Mandra, northwest of Athens.
Camera IconA photo shows a damaged car in the town of Mandra, northwest of Athens. Credit: AFP

The fire department said it had received more than 600 calls for help pumping water out of buildings and had rescued 86 people trapped in vehicles and homes. It said it had deployed 190 firefighters with 55 vehicles. All fire services across the wider Athens area had been put on alert as more bad weather was forecast.

Damaged boats are moored at a harbour in Nea Peramos, southwest of Athens.
Camera IconDamaged boats are moored at a harbour in Nea Peramos, southwest of Athens. Credit: AFP

A section of the highway between Athens and Corinth was completely knocked out, with cars, trucks and buses trapped in an inundated underpass. Judicial authorities ordered an immediate investigation into the deaths and material damage. Investigators would be looking into whether factors such as shoddy or illegal construction might have contributed to the severity of the flooding.

Local authorities shut schools in the areas of Mandra, Nea Peramos and Megara, while the fire department appealed to the public to avoid the area unless absolutely necessary in an effort to reduce traffic.

A man stands next to a damaged car stuck in floodwater in the town of Mandra, northwest of Athens.
Camera IconA man stands next to a damaged car stuck in floodwater in the town of Mandra, northwest of Athens. Credit: AFP

More hazardous weather was predicted for large swathes of Greece later Wednesday and in coming days, with storms predicted for western Greece and for parts of the Greek capital.

The deaths came a day after authorities declared a state of emergency on the small Aegean Sea island of Symi due to torrential rainfall there that flooded homes and shops, swept vehicles into the sea and cut power after the local power station was flooded.

Originally published as ‘Biblical disaster’ hits Greece