Greek authorities have announced that three more people have been found dead from the violent flash flood that hit towns in the western outskirts of Athens, raising the overall death toll to 19.
Search and rescue teams found the body of a man on the grounds of a factory near the town of Mandra and a coast guard patrol ship found the bodies of two men in the sea south of Mandra. A spokeswoman said the men, 59 and 29, had been identified at a hospital by their relatives.
All three bodies belonged to people known to have been missing since the flood hit Wednesday. Three more people are still missing and feared dead.
Dozens of videos have been shared on Facebook by people who experienced the violence and force of the floods.
While the storms were unprecedented, as was the amount of rain that fell so quickly, officials pointed to Greece’s notorious illegal construction problem with entire riverbeds built over.
“Meteorologists say that at its most intense, the rainfall amounted to three centimetres [1.18 inches] in one minute, leading to flash flooding. Greece is experiencing a week of heavy rain after many months of very little, and many of the dry river beds that serve as natural spillways have been built over, in some cases with inadequate drainage,” according to John Psaropoulos, an Athens-based journalist who spoke to National Public Radio.
Above, drone footage from The Washington Post shows the extent of the flooding in western Athens. Below, another resident’s harrowing personal footage.
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