Flooding triggered by severe rainstorms also hit neighboring Bulgaria and Turkey, leaving a total of 15 people dead in the three countries.
In Greece, helicopters, unable to fly earlier due to frequent lightning, began plucking people from flooded areas and winching them to safety on Thursday afternoon.
“Our country finds itself, for the third day, dealing with a phenomenon the likes of which we have not seen in the past,” Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said, noting that some areas received more than twice the average annual rainfall of Athens in the space of 12 hours. Tracked vehicles and boats were being used to help evacuate people, but the boats were unable to reach some areas due to the large volume of debris and the strength of the torrents of floodwaters, authorities said.
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