Man Dies in Storm Erminio Floods Near Athens

A man in his 50s died after being swept away by floodwaters in the seaside town of Nea Makri, northeast of Athens, as Storm Erminio battered Greece with heavy rain, gale-force winds and a thick Saharan dust cloud on April 2. Firefighters recovered his body early Thursday from beneath a car on Pythagoras Street, where he had reportedly left his flooded basement apartment and attempted to cross a submerged road.

The storm, which intensified overnight, caused widespread flooding across Attica and several Aegean islands, submerging streets, toppling trees and downing power lines. In eastern Attica and northern suburbs, emergency crews responded to hundreds of calls, pumping water from homes and clearing debris from roads like Marathonos Avenue near Rafina, where vehicles and a bus were stranded in rushing torrents. Dozens of homes were inundated, and schools remained closed in affected areas, including the island of Poros, where a small bridge collapsed and several cars were washed away.

On Crete, one of Greece's most popular tourist destinations, strong southerly winds carried dust from North Africa, turning the sky an eerie red-orange and severely disrupting air travel. Visibility...