Three die as heavy storms and flooding hit Greece

Rescuers stand on a pier as they try to pull up a body using nets after a storm in Antirio, Greece, November 24, 2019. Picture taken November 24, 2019. REUTERS/Vassilis Delimaris NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

ATHENS (Reuters) - Three people died in torrential rain and thunderstorms that caused widespread flooding and disrupted transport in Greece on Monday, officials said.

Two drowned when their moored sailing boat sank in the seaside town of Antirio, coastguard officials said. An elderly bedridden woman was later found dead in her flooded home on the island of Rhodes, local officials said.

In a weather front which the Greek meteorological service has called Geryon or Geryones after a giant of Greek mythology, parts of the road network to the Peloponnese peninsula were cut off for hours because of flooding, police officials said.

A sailing boat where two people were found dead is seen half submerged in the water after a storm, next to a pier in Antirio, Greece, November 24, 2019. Picture taken November 24, 2019. REUTERS/Vassilis Delimaris NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

In Kineta, a beach town west of the capital Athens, extensive damage was recorded to the road network from rockfalls from surrounding hills, with roads and gardens submerged in mud. The region suffered a major forest fire in 2018.

The storms first hit late on Sunday and the civil protection service had urged municipal authorities to be on alert.

The fire department received dozens of calls to pump water from premises while schools in the Athens region opened two hours late on Monday because of the weather.

A sailing boat where two people were found dead is seen half submerged in the water after a storm, next to a pier in Antirio, Greece, November 24, 2019. Picture taken November 24, 2019. REUTERS/Vassilis Delimaris NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

Twenty-four people were killed when flash floods hit the town of Mandra west of Athens in Nov. 2017, and seven were killed in a freak storm in northern Greece in July 2019.

(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas and Michele Kambas; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Timothy Heritage)

A local runs next to a partially collapsed bridge following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A damaged road following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A local stands next to debris on a partially collapsed bridge following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A local stands next to ? damaged house, following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A local stands next to debris on a muddy road following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Locals sit at their balcony as debris is gathered outside their house following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Locals clean the entrance of a house from mud following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A local with a shovel stands on a road full of mud and debris following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Locals make their way on a partially collapsed bridge following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A shrine is seen among debris following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Damaged cars are seen following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A Public Power Corporation (PPC) worker repairs a damaged electricity pole following floods in the town of Kineta, Greece, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis