A fierce weather system dubbed Storm Erminio has wreaked havoc across Greece, resulting in at least one fatality near Athens while simultaneously blanketing the island of Crete in an eerie, red-orange cloud of Saharan dust.
Early Thursday morning, emergency responders from the local fire department discovered the body of a man trapped beneath a vehicle in the rural community of Nea Makri.
The broader region has been severely battered by relentless gale-force winds and torrential downpours. In Nea Makri, rising floodwaters inundated streets and submerged the basement of the town's police station. The deluge also collapsed a bridge on the island of Poros, where several vehicles were reportedly swept away by the surging waters.
Greek authorities have been pushed to their limits, with the fire department fielding 674 distress calls between Wednesday and the early hours of Thursday. The overwhelming majority of these requests originated from the greater Athens region of Attica, primarily to clear fallen trees. The severe weather has prompted widespread school closures and forced ferries to remain docked, though officials hope maritime travel may resume later on Thursday if conditions safely permit.
Meanwhile, the island of Crete faced a surreal atmospheric anomaly. Powerful winds sweeping in from Africa carried massive amounts of Saharan dust over the Mediterranean, plunging the island into a thick, rust-colored haze on Wednesday that severely disrupted commercial flights.
The danger is far from over. Greece's national meteorological service has warned that severe conditions—including prolonged, intense rainfall and localized hailstorms—will persist across much of the country. Consequently, a strict red weather alert has been issued for the western and southern regions of Crete, remaining in active effect through Thursday night.