The passage of the Daniel storm system through the Greek capital on Wednesday caused serious traffic disruptions, turning many central thoroughfares into rivers, while several metro and train stations were forced to temporarily shut down after taking in water.

The fury of the storms prompted authorities to send a 112 message alert to residents of Attica, warning them that heavy rain and storms were under way and urging them to limit their movements.

At the same time eyebrows were raised after regional authorities were reassuring that the cleaning of road drains had been carried out normally.

On central Vasilissis Sofias Avenue people were put at risk as they were swept away by the rushing waters. One video uploaded on social media showed a man struggling after was swept away and receiving help from passers-by.

Petrou Ralli, Hamosternas and Vasilissis Sofias were among the major city thoroughfares that were flooded.

There was also flooding on Poseidonos Avenue toward Glyfada from Syngrou Avenue in southern Athens.

A section of Konstantinou Karamanli Avenue, near the Asklepio Hospital in Voula, was also closed to traffic due to flooding.

Services on Line 1 (Green) of the Athens metro were disrupted due to flooding on the tracks, with trains only running between Piraeus and Tavros and Omonia and Kifissia, as Petralona, Monastiraki and Thiseio stations were temporarily closed.

Evangelismos metro station (Line 3) was also temporarily closed due to the inflow of water from the entrances.