A small shrine is seen on a hill as waves caused by strong winds hit the cliffs of the port town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
ATHENS (Reuters) - Ships were held in dock at ports across Greece on Thursday and schools were ordered to shut down in the Attica region around Athens on Friday as the country braced for a Mediterranean autumn cyclone.
Temperatures plunged unexpectedly by up to 10 degrees Celsius and gusting winds blew garbage containers off the streets of Athens and led to power cuts and tree falls in several areas of Greece.
Firefighters received hundreds of calls for assistance to remove downed trees and other objects on Thursday.
Dimitris Papadomilonakis holds a hose as firefighters try to pump water from his sailing boat at the port of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
The civil protection service urged municipalities and citizens to be on the alert for a storm dubbed "Xenophon".
Winds were forecast to intensify and rain set to pound parts of the country later on Thursday and Friday, Greece's National Weather Service said.
Michalis Petrakis, a former head of the National Observatory of Athens, said wind speeds could reach 90 kilometers (56 miles) per hour, though he did not anticipate a disaster.
Firefighters pump water from the sailing boat of Dimitris Papadomilonakis (L) at the port of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
"There is no reason to panic," he told state television.
The storm was already affecting some Greek islands - Kythera was struggling with severe power cuts while firefighters were trying to douse flames fanned by strong winds on Kefalonia.
The Athens area has recently been hit by deadly fires and flash floods. In 2017, 24 people were killed and left scores homeless after a rain-swollen torrent inundated two coastal towns west of the capital.
Burned bushes from the recent deadly wildfires in the areas of Rafina and Mati are seen on a hill as waves caused by strong winds hit the cliffs of the port town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
A fisherman speaks on the phone onboard a moored fishing boat as strong winds hit the port of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis KonstantinidisA windsurfer tries to stand on his board as strong winds hit the port town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis KonstantinidisWaves break on the pier next to a moored ferry as strong winds hit the port of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis KonstantinidisFirefighters arrive to pump water from the sailing boat (R) of Dimitris Papadomilonakis at the port of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis KonstantinidisA seagull flies as a man stands next to the wave breaker to protect from strong winds hitting the port of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis KonstantinidisA windsurfer sails as strong winds hit the port town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis KonstantinidisWaves break next to a lighthouse as strong winds hit the port of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
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