Storm Byron brings heavy rains and damage across Greece

Mandra, a town in the western Attica region roughly 20 km from Athens, was among the hardest-hit areas. The severe flooding revived painful memories of the 2017 disaster there, when 24 people lost their lives during a similar extreme weather event. Streets turned into lakes, and homes and businesses were submerged in mud amid heavy rainfall.

This time, no casualties were reported in Mandra or anywhere else in Greece. Since Thursday morning, the Fire Brigade has received nearly 600 calls for assistance, including requests to evacuate 22 people to safety,10 of them in Mandra.

According to the National Observatory of Athens, the heaviest rainfall recorded from Thursday evening to Friday morning reached 251 millimeters in nearby Nea Peramos, one of the highest 24-hour measurements since 2008.

Local officials said that anti-flood works carried out in recent years likely prevented another tragedy, though they emphasized that further improvements are still needed.

Over the past 48 hours, intense downpours accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds have caused significant damage to homes, businesses, farmland, and infrastructure across many parts of Greece, from the island of Zakynthos in the west to the mainland, the Peloponnese peninsula, and Aegean islands such as Crete and Rhodes in the southeast.

Nearly all regions of the country (12 out of 13) were placed under a "code red" alert, the highest level, through Saturday. Schools remained closed, and authorities urged the public to avoid unnecessary travel.

The National Meteorological Service reported that severe weather conditions are expected to persist until midday on Saturday.

As written before, rescuers race to find survivors after last week's floods in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand.