Deadly storms and floods rage in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria

Storms have killed more than a dozen people in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, as a period of extreme heat has given way to heavy rainstorms in the region.

At least seven people were killed as heavy rains triggered flash floods in northwest Turkey, state news agency Anadolu said on Wednesday.

Five people died and one person was missing in Kirklareli province near the border with Bulgaria and Greece, after houses were flooded late on Tuesday, local media reported.

Authorities said a further two people were killed and 31 injured in Istanbul's northern Basaksehir and Kucukcekmece districts, where images showed cars floating in floodwaters.

Turkey's largest city received rainfall roughly equivalent to what it would expect in the entirety of September in the space of six hours, the governor's office said in a statement.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said search and rescue operations were continuing and pledged financial support to families in flood-affected areas.

Bulgaria's tourist area affected

Meanwhile, the toll from torrential rains and flooding on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast climbed to four, while several thousand tourists were left stranded, officials said.

Rescuers found the bodies of two women — a 54-year-old regional court chairwoman and her 30-year-old daughter — on Wednesday, the interior ministry said. The two women were missing after the car they were travelling in was swept away while crossing a flooded bridge.

Earlier in the day, the body of a man was recovered from the sea, while another man, a 61-year-old construction worker, was found dead on Tuesday.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms since late Monday caused rivers to overflow, damaging bridges and cutting off access in the region south of the coastal city of Burgas.

"Around 4,000 people are affected by the disaster along the entire southern part of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast," said Tourism Minister Zaritsa Dinkova after meeting hoteliers near the flood-hit coastal town of Tsarevo.

Record rainfall in Greece

Greece's central Magnesia region got rainfall of 600-800 millimeters (24-31 inches) over a 24-hour period including Tuesday, a government meteorologist told reporters in Athens. Dimitris Ziakopoulos called it an "unprecedented phenomenon" for the country's meteorological data, which dates back to 1955.

The record rainfall caused at least three deaths near the central city of Volos and in Karditsa, further to the west, according to the fire service. Three people were reported missing.

An 87-year-old woman missing since Tuesday was found dead on Wednesday in the village of Paltsi in Magnesia, fire department spokesman Yannis Artopios told public broadcaster ERT.  Another person was found dead in the city of Karditsa in central Greece. On Tuesday, a 51-year-old man was found dead near Volos after being swept away by a rising torrent.

Authorities banned traffic in Volos, the nearby mountain region of Pelion and the resort island of Skiathos, where many households remained without electricity and running water on Wednesday. Traffic was also banned in another two regions of central Greece near Volos, while the storms were forecast to continue until at least Thursday afternoon.

dh/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters)