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Bad weather in Greece killed two people: this morning lightning struck a shepherd in the region of Corinthia, causing his death, and the body of a 73-year-old woman was found in Salamina, apparently another lightning casualty.

Earlier this morning, atrocious weather caused serious damage in the region of Asprochoma, Kalamata and in Skala, the Laconia region of the Peloponnese. Apart from the calamity in Skala itself, the villages of Elos, Leimonas and Astaire have also been the scene of serious damage. The tornado, which raged this morning, blew away rooftops, overturned cars, uprooted trees and destroyed shops. In Sparta, Laconia district, the ice chunks of the driving hailstorm were egg-sized.

Source: www.apela.gr

As the deputy mayor of Evrotas in the Peloponnese prefecture, Ilias Panagiotakakos, told the APE-MPE news agency, over a hundred businesses have sustained damage, while the interior of many houses with blown away rooftops is completely destroyed. One person was seriously injured, while others sustained minor injuries and were given first aid.

A Gypsy camp was also destroyed in the area, and serious damage has been unleashed on farm crops: several acres of greenhouses were destroyed, and whole orange groves were uprooted.

The deputy mayor of Evrotas said it was a desperate situation, the city and the region suffered power cuts as electricity posts were either knocked down or broken. Teams from the electricity supplier arrived on the spot to try and restore power.

Traffic in the city of Scala is hampered by cars thrown asunder by the tornado, broken trees and busted roofs.

The Evrotas municipality and the Laconia district management have formed teams to report on the damage, recover assets and help locals out together with firefighters.

The tornado has caused serious damage in Asprochoma, Kalamata. Shop windows have been broken, trucks have been thrown off the roads, two of which overturned at the entrance of Kalamata, plaques have been broken in the town's cemetery. No dead or wounded have been reported.

Source: www.tharrosnews.gr

Destruction in Kalamata

"The tornado was awful. It dragged along trucks, cars, industrial building rooftops, electricity poles, broke shop windows, uprooted trees, displaced even heavy trucks", said Kalamata mayor Panagiotis Nikas, who was busy documenting the damage while chairing a special committee and leading the rescue teams.

"We want help from the state, we want the area immediately declared hit by a natural disaster, we need the state's intervention to enable us to cope with the consequences", added Panagiotis Nikas. Deputy Messinia Governor Eleni Aliferi joined his plea.

Weather problems in Patra

In Patras the rains flooded basements and blocked traffic. According to sources, the fire department received more than 50 requests for draining basements, shops or homes.

According to the city services, the city centre has seen the worst traffic jams. Driving rain flooded the service centre near the port, and today it will remain closed.

Floods in Preveza

Shortly before 9 PM last night the downpour turned Preveza's streets into rivers.

Source: www.pamepreveza.gr

The town's promenade, its historic centre and Irini boulevard have been most struck by the floods, with the water reaching half a metre in places.