Athens, Greece flooded after torrential rainfall and thunderstorm

Athens - As if Athens hasn't got enough problems, the city was hit by torrential rains today and flooding has caused traffic jams, disruption to train and tram services and affected homes and businesses.

Several hours of torrential rain and a thunderstorm have left the Greek capital, Athens, under water. Basements have been flooded by the deluge and authorities have been forced to close a central subway station and underpasses on Friday morning. According to the fire department, they have received at least 600 calls to drain water from homes and businesses, while many of the city's streets are at least ankle-deep in water. Sotiris Georgakopoulos told NET state TV that, "It was one of the worst thunderstorms we have ever had in the greater Athens area [since 1961]." He said that at one point the rainfall was so intense and heavy, parked cars were swept away by the rising waters. According to a senior traffic police officer, Dimitris Papanagiotou, "There are cars immobilised on several Athens highways and we have dispatched tow trucks to clear the roads." Parts of the city reportedly experienced short power cuts as key electricity substations were flooded. Fortunately no injuries have been reported and fire chiefs have around 60 crews tackling the floods throughout Friday and they hope the water will recede. The Greek National Weather Service estimates that the adverse weather phenomenon will gradually recede by Saturday.