Cars are swept away as roads transform into raging rivers on Greek holiday island amid ferocious storms in the Med

Published: 05:13 EDT, 2 November 2026 | Updated: 05:19 EDT, 2 November 2026 Torrential rain has battered Greece, unleashing severe flooding that swept cars away and turned roads into rivers. Storm Agneta has brought heavy rainfall across western and northern Greece, as well as on the islands of the eastern Aegean, with harsh conditions expected to last until Wednesday. Holiday hot-spot Rhodes bore the brunt of the weather, with violent flash floods washing cars away and submerging streets, footage showed. A warning message sent overnight urged residents and tourists to seek shelter on higher ground and to avoid going outside, while schools were closed on Monday. Some residents were forced to climb onto their roofs to protect themselves from rising water levels, local media reported. Firefighters have also been receiving repeated calls to pump water out of flooded properties.Rainfall is expected to intensify on Monday across the Ionian Islands, as well as on the coastal areas in central Greece, where thunderstorms continue to lash down. The civil protection agency has urged the public to take self-protection measures and advised residents to secure loose objects and avoid crossing streams and torrents on foot or by car. Cars were swept away in Rhodes as floods turned roads into rivers Footage showed cars submerged in water as Greece was battered by a powerful storm Residents and tourists have been advised not to go outside as the storm is expected to last until WednesdayThe agency also advised people to avoid walking along the coast. Heavy rain and thunderstorms are also forecast for the Ionian islands from midday and Epirus in western Central Greece and the western and southern Peloponnese. It comes just weeks after Greece was battered by another powerful storm which killed one person. A 62-year-old man died last month after a torrent of water swept his car onto a beach during a heavy rainstorm on Rhodes. The man's body was found near a small seaside village about 19 miles from the town of Rhodes, while four cars had been washed away due to severe weather, the coast guard said. Last month also saw Spain battered by Storm Adam, which cut off several towns along the Mediterranean coast, leaving scenes reminiscent of the catastrophic flooding that killed more than 230 people in the Valencia region two years ago.The severe flooding across Spain last month left four people dead. The bodies of two people were found in the Valencian town of Oliva during rescue operations.One was a 79-year-old woman found in her home, while another was a man who suffered a fatal heart attack at a local campsite. Residents clear mud from homes and courtyards in Milina area following the floods in South Pelion, Greece, 29 October 2026 An aerial photo taken with a drone shows damage caused by floods in Platanias, South Pelion A fire engine operates in the Milina area following floods in South PelionIn nearby Sagunto, a body was found washed up on the beach, and in Cabrera de Mar, near Barcelona, firefighters reported the death of a woman who fell into a rain-swollen stream.Security forces carried out more than 400 rescues in the Valencia region, both by air and by land, according to government representative Pilar Bernabe.In Els Poblets, northeast of Alicante, the force of the water left cars and vans piled on top of one ​another as residents tried to salvage what they could from their flooded homes.Meteorologists say human-driven climate change makes such extreme weather events more frequent and ​destructive.