Floods leave four dead and extensive damage

At least four people died and another went missing as heavy rainfall late Tuesday and early Wednesday flooded streets and homes in the Messinia region in the southern Peloponnese and areas east of Thessaloniki in northern Greece.

According to the fire service, all four victims were in the southern Peloponnese and all were senior citizens: an 80-year-old woman who lived alone in an apartment in Kalamata; a 62-year-old woman with mobility problems in the village of Pidima; a 90-year-old man in the village of Thouria; and another elderly man, whose age was not disclosed, whose body was found some 150 meters from his home in a rural part of Laconia.

Authorities, which declared five municipalities in a state of emergency, fear the list of casualties could grow, especially in villages whose residents are mainly elderly people.

The floods caused extensive damage...