Thunderstorm Causes Traffic Chaos, Flooding in Athens

A major thunderstorm on Friday flooded roads and homes in Athens, causing massive gridlock across the Greek capital and knocking out parts of its metro network, authorities said.

The fire department said it had received some 700 calls to drain water from houses and businesses as ankle-high water filled the city's streets.

A parliament employee narrowly avoided injury when a glass roof on the building's ceiling gave way as she tried to clear away rainwater from it.

The damage was quickly repaired, a parliament press officer said.

"There are cars immobilized on several Athens highways and we have dispatched tow trucks to clear the roads," Dimitris Papanagiotou, a senior traffic police officer, told state television NET.

"We have around 60 fire crews operating, we believe the rain will abate before midday," deputy fire chief Vassilis Papageorgiou told the station.