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Floods hit Rhodes, two missing: local authorities

23 November 2013 04:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Two persons were missing at Rhodes on Friday evening, local authorities said as the southeastern Aegean Sea island was hit by heavy rainfall and gale force winds which caused floods, APA reportrs quoting Xinhua.

The Fire Brigade has launched a wide investigation to trace a 50-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman who were stranded in a car during the storm which lasted for two hours.

A third man travelling in the same vehicle managed to save himself by getting out in time before the car was drifted away by the water.

Local authorities have responded to a similar call saving another two persons from a car, while they have received approximately 130 telephone calls to evacuate motorists and pump out flooded basements of homes and stores.

The heavy downpours uprooted trees leading to disruptions in traffic and short power cuts in particular in the northern part of the island.

As flood waters have already started to recede, Greek meteorologists note that the weather conditions will gradually improve during the weekend.