Greek authorities issued emergency 112 mobile alerts on Monday night ordering residents across western Greece to restrict travel as Storm Agneta brought violent thunderstorms.
The automated warnings were sent to mobile phones in the coastal regional units of Thesprotia and Preveza, as well as the island of Corfu, advising the public to remain indoors until Tuesday morning.
Officials warned that severe downpours and lightning would batter the region through the night, urging residents to limit all unnecessary travel and strictly follow guidance from emergency authorities.
Travel restrictions across the Ionian islands
The emergency warnings covered a wide swathe of northwestern Greece, encompassing Corfu, Paxos and Antipaxos, alongside the Diapontia Islands near Greece's maritime border.
The alert messages stated that heavy rain and severe storms would hit the islands from Monday night into the morning hours, instructing residents to stay off the roads.
The European 112 emergency communications system operates in Greece as an automated broadcast tool, sending targeted alerts to all mobile phones within specific cell tower sectors during natural hazards and extreme weather.
Thesprotia and Preveza sit along the coastline of the Epirus region, where mountainous terrain and river basins make coastal roadways especially prone to flash flooding and rockfalls during torrential autumn rainstorms.
Civil protection alert and national emergency response
The overnight warnings followed an emergency meeting of Greece's Civil Protection Coordinating Body on Monday afternoon to assess the path of the storm system.
Civil protection authorities placed seven regions on red code status, the nation's highest weather alert level, warning that severe storms and heavy rain would sweep across the rest of the country.
The Hellenic National Meteorological Service issued an updated emergency weather bulletin detailing the incoming front, while meteorologist Thodoris Kolydas warned that conditions were difficult and urged particular caution in the Attica region around Athens.
Greece's Ministry of Labour announced emergency workplace protections for private sector workers in areas facing extreme conditions, urging employers to take preventive steps to ensure employee safety.
School closures and storm damage on Rhodes
Storm Agneta had already caused widespread destruction earlier on Monday in the eastern Aegean, striking the island of Rhodes with fierce winds and torrential rain.
Municipal authorities on Rhodes ordered the complete closure of all schools and sports facilities for Monday and Tuesday as a safety precaution following scenes of damage across the island.
Data from the National Observatory of Athens weather service, Meteo, confirmed that rainfall totals exceeded 100 millimetres in the regional unit of Rhodope in northeastern Greece, as well as on the islands of Samos and Fournoi near Ikaria.
Weather stations also tracked intense electrical activity nationwide, recording a high number of lightning discharges across Greek territory throughout the storm's passage.
Flash floods and road closures over the weekend
The Monday night alert capped several days of turbulent weather across Greece, with emergency services responding to flooding incidents throughout the weekend.
Torrential downpours on Sunday caused flash flooding in the central town of Nea Anchialos, where rushing waters swept between houses in the Alonaki neighbourhood and submerged roadways and private courtyards in mud.
Police in northern Greece also closed sections of the road network on the Chalkidiki peninsula on Sunday after heavy downpours caused local flooding, placing traffic cones and warning signs to divert drivers.
Emergency services remain on standby across western Greece and the Ionian Islands as local authorities monitor river levels and drainage networks ahead of Tuesday morning.
