At least three people were killed and hundreds have been rescued in Greece after a rare storm system known as a "medicane" spawned severe flooding after making landfall on Friday, according to officials.
The storm, named Ianos, hit the Ionian islands and western Peloponnese on Friday before lashing the rest of the country on Saturday.
"We're dealing with a total catastrophe," one resident in Farsala told state television.
STRONG 'MEDICANE' TAKES AIM AT GREECE, ALERTS ISSUED FOR CYCLONE-LIKE STORM
Authorities said Saturday they identified two people killed in floodwaters as an elderly woman was found dead in her flooded home in the region of Thessaly and a 63-year-old shepherd was swept away by rising floodwaters.
Seawater from crashing waves cover a road at the port of Argostoli, on the Ionian island of Kefalonia, western Greece, Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Nikiforos Stamenis)
They also said a woman who is missing ignored instructions by firefighters and police not to drive into an area where a bridge spans a river.
The medical centre of Mouzaki village is seen partially collapsed after a storm, near Karditsa town, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Eurokinissi)
On Sunday, the Athens News Agency reported that a man's body was found under a collapsed roof near Karditsa.
Waves break on a seaside tavern during a storm at the port of Argostoli, on the Ionian island of Kefalonia, western Greece, Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Nikiforos Stamenis)
Some 5,000 homes have been flooded in Karditsa from the storm's heavy rains, where Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to visit in the coming days, Sky News reported.
Damaged power and telecommunication lines are seen during a storm at the port of Argostoli, on the Ionian island of Kefalonia, western Greece, Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Nikiforos Stamenis)
As of Saturday, the country's firefighting service said it received some 2,500 calls from trapped residents in central and western Greece about removing fallen trees that were blocking roads. Emergency officials have rescued more than 600 people since the storm made landfall.
Waves break on a seaside tavern during a storm at the port of Argostoli, on the Ionian island of Kefalonia, western Greece, Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Nikiforos Stamenis)
Greece’s train operator, TrainOSE, said service linking southern and northern Greece was suspended due to the storm's impacts.
A man holds drowned poultry near his house at Magoula village, near Karditsa town, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)
Water from a river that burst its banks damaged at least two bridges and several buildings, including the local health center in the Thessaly town of Mouzaki, which collapsed.
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Parts of the stricken area were also without electricity.
Residents clean a sheet of glass next to a flooded street after a storm at Karditsa town, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)
The storm's landfall on Friday featured lots of strong winds and sea foam.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the storm system was a hybrid between a tropical cyclone and a mid-latitude storm.
"It is a MEDIterranean hurriCANE which brings high winds and waves and torrential rain and flooding," the WMO tweeted.
According to the agency, these hybrid storms have strong winds spinning around a core with torrential rainfall and also feature an eye that makes them similar to hurricanes.
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But there are differences, including medicanes typically being smaller than hurricanes and may only exist for 24 to 48 hours. These storms are also less intense, with the most severe medicanes only reaching the strength of a Category 1 hurricane.
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"Activity historically peaks between September and January," the WMO said Friday. "Greece was last hit by a strong medicane in 2018."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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