A 25-year-old man is dead after floodwaters swept his car into the sea off Stegna beach on the island of Rhodes Wednesda...

A 25-year-old man is dead after floodwaters swept his car into the sea off Stegna beach on the island of Rhodes Wednesday. The man, who worked at a local hotel, had gone to retrieve his car when it was carried away by the current. He was found unconscious in the water by Coast Guard personnel, police, and emergency medical crews who responded to the scene. The National Observatory of Athens recorded 264 millimeters of rain at its Rhodes weather station by 12:50 pm, with 202 of those millimeters falling in roughly six and a half hours. Four cars in total were swept into the sea near the village of Archangelos on the island's east coast. Roads across Rhodes turned into rivers, stranding dozens of vehicles in areas including Ialysos, Afandou, Faliraki, and Archangelos. Authorities shut the road linking Archangelos and Malonas after a large rock fell onto the pavement, destroying protective barriers. A bridge into the settlement of Archangelos was also closed as a precaution. Schools and municipal sports facilities on Rhodes were shut for the day, and some local bus services were suspended. An emergency alert went out through Greece's 112 warning system, urging residents and visitors to stay off the roads. Lightning strikes added to the chaos. One started a fire at a residence in Ialysos, and another knocked out the electrical system at the South Aegean regional station of public broadcaster ERT, cutting its transmission. A double waterspout was spotted near Archangelos, though no damage from it was reported. Rhodes Mayor Alexandros Koliadis urged people to avoid unnecessary travel and warned against attempting to cross flooded roads or streams on foot or by car. The storm system also hit the island of Evia, where heavy rain caused additional flooding and transport disruptions. #Rhodes #Greece #FlashFloods