Volos

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday urged the public to comply with the instructions issued by the Greek authorities as a severe storm pummelled central Greece, turning streets into flooded torrents.

Greek police ordered vehicles off the streets of the central town of Volos and the nearby mountain region of Pilion on Tuesday as a severe storm hit the area, turning streets into flooded torrents.

The ban, which covers all except emergency services and roadside assistance vehicles, will remain in place until the storm subsides, police said.

One man was found dead and hundreds of houses and roads were flooded in the port city of Volos, in central Greece, on Tuesday morning, following 10 hours of thunderstorms in the wider region which are expected to persist for another 24 hours. 

New Democracy secured a second term in Greece's June general election by promising a systematic approach to addressing public issues. However, since 2019, the party has been facing significant security challenges, making it appear vulnerable.

The explosions in late July at a Hellenic Air Force ammunitions depot near the town of Nea Anchialos in central Greece has prompted a discussion on new security and fire safety protocols, and the replacement of tired infrastructure that can only just accommodate the military's increasingly modern technological capabilities.

There is a common thread linking February's deadly train crash at Tempe, July's devastating wildfire on the island of Rhodes, the explosion at an ammunitions dump in Nea Anchialos that same month and the more recent events in the Athens suburb Nea Filadelfia, and that is the complete absence of a public safety culture.

The deadline to submit binding bids for a 67% stake in Volos Port Authority is August 22 and will not be extended, Kathimerini understands.

Of finalists summoned to submit binding bids, seven are said to still be actively interested.

Greece's conservative government seems to be stumbling from crisis to crisis, bearing the consequences of the inertia and inadequacy within certain sectors of the state machinery. 

The United States House of Representatives on Aug. 1 added an article to the draft of the 2024 defense budget bill to submit a research report for the establishment of new U.S. bases in Greece, especially on the Aegean islands.

Greece's defense minister has received the findings of an administrative inquiry (EDE) regarding the explosions that occurred due to an out-of-control wildfire at an ammunition depot on a Hellenic Air Force base near Volos in central Greece on July 27. On Friday, the head of the Armed Forces presented the report to the minister.