A fierce wave of winter storms has flooded the heart of Athens and shaken the wider region, turning busy streets into rushing waterways and leaving at least two people dead, officials said Thursday amid ongoing chaos from heavy rain, gale‑force winds, and snow in higher terrain.
Videos and images from the flooded city center show cars stranded in waist‑high water, pedestrians wading through submerged roadways, and emergency crews battling to clear drains and pump out homes as rain continued to pound the capital.
The severe weather, part of a low‑pressure system sweeping across much of Greece, intensified in the Attica region late Wednesday afternoon, sending water rushing onto main roads and snarling travel in and out of the city.
Sicily's fourth largest town Alcamo was hit by 35mm of rain around midnight on Wednesday, leaving chaos in its wake. Videos posted to social media captured forked lightning and raging torrents flowing through the Italian streets.
Parked cars were swept away, and flood waters invaded garages, basements and the ground floor of many homes, overwhelming the city in just a few hours. Emergency services received several requests for help throughout the night.
The tourist area of Taormina was on its knees, with beaches swept by the violence of the sea. Governor Schifani in Sicily expressed "heartfelt thanks to the regional civil protection, the volunteers, the municipalities, the fire brigade, the police force, and the thousands of people who worked tirelessly during the most difficult hours of the emergency", making it possible to "avoid the loss of human lives".
Authorities issued red alerts across Sicily and Sardinia as the storm unleashed gale-force winds, intense rain and dangerous storm surges. In total, 190 people were evacuated from exposed areas across Sicily.
It comes after storms also lashed Malta with hail piling up like snow and rivers of ice flooding streets. Malta's Civil Protection Department warned residents: "avoid working at heights, including rooftops, balconies, scaffolding, and exposed structures" and "Stay away from the shoreline, breakwaters, and coastal paths."
Comment: Also on the coast of southern Italy more massive waves were videoed:
Landslide leaves seven people dead in Kohat district
Seven people were killed and one was injured in a tragic landslide incident at Qamar Kalley area near Gambat Tehsil, district Kohat.
According to District Emergency Officer Noor Alamin Khattak, several persons were buried under the debris after a hillside was collapsed.
Rescue 1122 teams promptly reached the scene and conducted a search-and-rescue operation. All victims were recovered, including seven dead bodies and one injured person.
Over 30 Rescue 1122 personnel, along with three ambulances and a disaster response vehicle, participated in the rescue operation, which was directly supervised by the District Emergency Officer.
The deceased have been identified as Talat son of Waqil, Fayyaz son of Riaz, Abid son of Parvez, Daniyal son of Zafar Ali, Sabir son of Iqbal, Faraz son of Farzand Ali, and Faizan son of Haji Rehman. The injured has been identified as Riaz Ali Khan, son of Ibtidar Khan.
Authorities have called for caution in the hilly areas of Kohat and warned the residents to stay alert amid unstable terrain following heavy rainfall.
Catalonia woke up on Tuesday to a second consecutive day of severe weather after a storm system left heavy rainfall on Monday, with more than 105 litres per square metre recorded in parts of Girona and waves exceeding six metres along the coast.
The storm was expected to intensify throughout Tuesday, prompting authorities to remain on high alert. The episode, known in Catalan as a 'llevantada,' is a typical weather phenomenon marked by strong easterly winds and very intense rainfall.
The 'llevantada' is forecast to be particularly severe in the eastern half of the territory, especially along the coastal and pre-coastal areas.
To alert the population, Civil Protection issued an emergency mobile phone alert to all residents in the counties of Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà, Selva and Gironès, warning of the risk of flooding and rising river levels.
Authorities urged people to limit travel until 5 pm and to stay away from rivers, streams and ravines, as well as underground areas, due to the risk of water ingress.
School classes were suspended in the counties of Baix Empordà, Selva and Gironès, as well as in Alt Empordà, and several roads across the region were closed to traffic.
Mobility restrictions in Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà were later extended until midnight, via another ES-Alert to mobile phones from Civil Protection.
At least four people were killed on Tuesday as floods swept across Tunisia amid the worst torrential rain for over 70 years in some regions, and there were fears the death toll could rise, authorities said.
The cloudbursts inundated streets, submerged vehicles and disrupted daily life in multiple governorates (provinces) of the North African country, with emergency services struggling to respond to the scale of the flooding.
Civil protection teams said several areas were cut off by rising waters, particularly in low-lying neighbourhoods.
Schools were closed in the capital Tunis and in the towns of Nabeul, Sousse and Beja, and court sessions were suspended and public and private transport crippled in some districts.
Videos shared on social media showed fast-moving floods sweeping debris through residential streets, with seawater inundating neighbourhoods in the coastal town of Menzel Temime.
Meteorological officials said the rainfall levels in some regions were the heaviest recorded since 1950.
Reporting by Tarek Amara; editing by Mark Heinrich
Zane Lilley The Connexion Mon, 19 Jan 2026 20:22 UTC
Heightened tier-three weather alerts remain in force across southern France today as heavy rainfall that began over the weekend continues.
Several rivers in Aude and Hérault have burst their banks, leading to powerful currents running through towns and cities and submerging cars.
Homes in parts of Narbonne (Aude) were evacuated on Sunday evening (January 18) as a precaution against the risk of flooding. Residents of single-storey houses in two districts - Maraussan and La Mayolle - were asked to move to nearby emergency shelters.
People living in several surrounding communes were also evacuated, with military personnel deployed to assist the operation.
Schools in Narbonne are closed today and school transport has been suspended across the commune.
A car drives through floodwater caused by heavy rainfall in Matola City, Maputo Province, Mozambique, Jan. 12, 2026.
Southern Mozambique has been placed on maximum flood alert following persistent heavy rainfall and increased water discharges from major dams, local authorities said on Wednesday.
In Gaza Province, the situation is particularly severe after heightened releases from the Massingir Dam. Authorities warned that the large volumes of discharged water have significantly increased the risk of flooding along the Limpopo Valley and its tributaries.
Minister of Public Works, Housing, and Water Resources Fernando Rafael said the dam had reached its maximum storage capacity, making the opening of emergency spillway gates unavoidable. He warned of a high flood risk in both low-lying and urban areas and urged residents in vulnerable zones to evacuate immediately.
Margarida Mapanzene Chongo, governor of Gaza Province, said it remains difficult to determine the number of people affected, as several communities have been cut off by overflowing rivers, hampering rescue and assessment efforts.
According to the National Emergency Operations Center, authorities have deployed multi-sectoral teams to reinforce evacuation and humanitarian assistance operations.
Flood risks have also intensified in Maputo Province, where movement across the Umbeluzi River bridge in Boane District has been restricted due to rising water levels linked to heavy rains and dam discharges. In Inhambane Province, communities along the Save River remain on high alert amid warnings of unpredictable water flows.
Authorities cautioned that the combination of persistent rainfall and upstream discharges could further worsen flooding risks in the coming days.
Australia's Great Ocean Road, famous for its scenic coastal views, was forced to close on Thursday after flash floods triggered by a storm hit the state of Victoria.
Aerial footage showed vehicles swept out to sea by floodwaters and caravan parks inundated.
The Victoria State Emergency Service issued an emergency flash flood warning for Wye River, Kennett River, Cumberland River, Lorne and surrounding areas, and urged people to take shelter.
Comment: AccWeather reports 6.5 inches fell of rain in just a few hours:
Aerial footage taken over the Pafuri area in the far north of the Kruger National Park shows the scale of flooding caused by intense rainfall in recent days.
The video, filmed on 13 January 2026, captures swollen, muddy rivers bursting their banks and spreading across the surrounding bushveld.
Large tracts of land appear submerged, with water flowing through normally dry areas and around trees. Take a look...
At least 18 people have died while several homes were swept away in a landslide triggered after heavy downpours overnight in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources told AFP Tuesday.
The landslide took place in Kashebere, in North Kivu province, where the Congolese state is largely absent due to the advance of the Rwanda-backed M23 militia.
Kashbere is around 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Goma, the provincial capital, which fell to a lightning M23 offensive at the beginning of 2025.
"Eighteen bodies have been found and 11 are still unfindable," Emile Kubuya, a local administrator who has fled to a government-held part of North Kivu, told AFP by phone.
Media reports mentioned on Wednesday that the total number of victims resulting from the landslide that occurred in the village of Borutsi in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo reached 28 people upon the completion of rescue operations.
The local newspaper "Actualité" stated, "In total, 28 bodies were recovered from under the rubble upon the completion of search operations that began last Tuesday until this morning; the number reached 19 people, in addition to finding nine other bodies."
According to local authorities, in addition to human losses, the landslide caused significant material damage, including the destruction of more than 17 homes.
It was previously announced that 11 people were still under the rubble, and five others were seriously injured.
It is worth mentioning that on Tuesday night, the landslide destroyed a large part of the homes in Borutsi, burying dozens of residents under the rubble.
Comment: Also on the coast of southern Italy more massive waves were videoed: