A state of emergency was declared in much of western coastal Greece – including the southern Ionian islands – and the central Peloponnese on Thursday, ahead of an expected severe storm front rolling through the area on Friday and early morning Saturday.
A notice to mariners was already in force, warning of gale force winds in the Ionian Sea.
The storm front, christened “Ianos” was forecast to drop significant amounts of rainfall within a short period of time across western Greece, leading to fears of flash floods.
