At least 14 dead as torrential rain triggers flooding in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria
The death toll from severe rainstorms that lashed parts of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria has risen, as ITV News reporter Ellie Pitt reports
At least 14 people have died after torrential rain brought flooding to parts of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria.
Among those killed were five holidaymakers who were swept away by a torrent of water at a campsite in Kirklareli, north west Turkey. One person remains missing.
The flash flood at the campsite, near the border with Bulgaria, carried away bungalow homes, while television footage showed rescuers carrying a young girl and an adult to safety from waist-high waters.
Elsewhere, the rains damaged and forced the closure of a main road, HaberTurk television reported.
Floods also hit Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, leaving at least two people dead. One was a 32-year-old Guinean citizen, who was trapped inside his ground-floor apartment in the Kucukcekmece district, HaberTurk TV reported.
The surging flood waters affected more than 1,750 homes and businesses in the city, according to Istanbul governor's office.
They included a line of shops in the Ikitelli district, where the deluge dragged parked vehicles and mud into furniture stores, destroying the merchandise, Turkish media reports said.
The floods also engulfed a parking area for containers and trucks on the city's outskirts, where people found safety by climbing on the roof of a restaurant.
About 12 people were rescued after being stranded in a library, and some metro stations were forced to close, while the heavy rain flooded streets and locals' homes.
Bulgaria
Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said two people died and three others were missing after a storm caused floods on the country's southern Black Sea coast.
Overflowing rivers caused severe damage to roads and bridges. The area also suffered power blackouts, and authorities warned residents not to drink tap water due to contamination from floodwaters.
High winds sent 2-metre (6-foot) waves crashing onto beaches at tourist resorts amid torrential rain that flooded streets and houses.
TV footage showed cars and camper vans being swept out to sea in the hardest-hit southern resort town of Tsarevo, where officials declared a state of emergency and urged people to move upstairs as the ground floors of some hotels were inundated.
Greece
In some parts of Greece, a year's worth of rain fell in just one day - channeling thigh-high torrents through streets and sweeping cars away - as the country faced more extreme weather following a summer of wildfires.
A man was killed near the central city of Volos when a wall buckled and fell on him. Five people were also reported missing, possibly swept away by floodwaters, the fire department said.
Traffic was banned in Volos, the nearby mountain region of Pilion and on the holiday resort island of Skiathos until the storm subsides, police said.
British tourists were among those stranded as three regions of Greece were hit by Storm Daniel, causing widespread flooding that turned roads into rivers.
Isabella Smith, who is on holiday on Skiathos, compared weather conditions there as something akin to a "warzone".
She told ITV News: "I've never seen anything like it. The whole sky was kind of just lit up frequently, the hotel room... obviously it was dark, but it kept kind of the whole room would light up and the noise was just kind of… yeah it was just absolutely terrifying."
'The noises felt like it was a warzone,' Isabella Smith describes to ITV News the weather conditions she has experienced while on holiday on Skiathos
People posted videos of water cascading through streets. Some reported power outages amid the "non-stop" rain.
Speaking to ITV News, Stanley Johnson, the father of the former prime minister, Boris Johnson, said: "I've never seen anything like it, I've never heard anything like it."
He later added: "The flooding has washed bridges into the sea, it has washed cars into the streets, I think in the mountain villages whole villages have been very seriously affected, some have slid into the abyss."
'I've never seen anything like it, I've never heard anything like it,' Stanley Johnson tells ITV News from Greece
Travel provider Tui told customers on X, formerly known as Twitter, that flights to Skiathos had been delayed overnight on Tuesday.
A tourist reported being "stranded" in the town of Troulos. Tui said they had "a team proactively contacting guests directly to advise the next steps".
Storm Daniel is causing severe flooding across the region, with streams overflowing their banks and water sweeping cars into the sea.
British tourists have taken to social media to ask for help having been left stranded on Skiathos, which is east of the Greek mainland.
Jet2 said all its flights due to depart the island on Tuesday and Wednesday - five in total - have been cancelled.
The airline said it was monitoring the forecast and will confirm new departure times as soon as possible.
Four flights scheduled from the UK to the Island on Wednesday have also been cancelled.
On Monday, a flight from London Stansted to Skiathos was diverted to the mainland city of Thessaloniki because of the weather, where customers were provided with hotel accommodation until they can be returned to the UK.
In a statement to affected customers posted on its website, Jet2 said: "We are sorry to inform you that due to the current and forecasted weather affecting the Island of Skiathos, we have delayed your flight.
"The heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are continuing to effect Skiathos, this is part of an adverse weather phenomenon named Storm Daniel.
"We are monitoring the forecast and will confirm your new departure time as soon as the forecast allows.
"We understand how frustrating this situation is, but please be assured that our dedicated UK-based Operations Team are working tirelessly to ensure we get you back to the UK, when it is safe to do so.
"We know that this is not the news you would like to hear, however, the safety and well-being of all our customers and crew is paramount. Whilst in destination, please continue to follow the advice of the Local Authority."
Authorities sent mobile phone alerts in several other areas of central Greece, the Sporades island chain and the island of Evia, warning people to limit their movements outdoors.
Streams overflowed their banks and swept cars into the sea in the Pilion area, while rockfalls blocked roads.
The country's minister for civil protection, Vassilis Kikilias, said the storms were forecast to ease after noon on Wednesday and urged people in affected areas to stay indoors.
'Careless summers as we knew them will cease to exist'
The storm comes on the heels of major summer wildfires that hit Greece over the past few weeks, with some burning for more than two weeks and destroying vast tracts of forest and farmland. More than 20 people were killed.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis blamed both the wildfires and storms on climate change, while conceding that his centre-right government "clearly didn’t manage things as well as we would have liked" on the wildfire front.
"I am afraid that the careless summers, as we knew them… will cease to exist and from now on the coming summers are likely to be ever more difficult,” he said on Tuesday.
Greece's weather service said a Pilion region village received 75.4 centimetres (nearly 30 inches) of rain late on Tuesday - by far the highest level recorded since at least 2006. The average annual rainfall in the Athens region is around 40 centimetres (15.75 inches).
The storm was forecast to cause heavy rainfall and storms, accompanied by hail, thunder and strong winds in the Aegean.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...