The fire department said a man in his 50s was found trapped under a car in Nea Makri, northeast of Athens, amid severe weather conditions. Emergency services reported nearly 500 calls across the greater Athens area, including more than 30 rescue operations.

Authorities issued emergency alerts and closed schools in Athens and other regions as the storm intensified. Ferry services, a key transport link for Greece’s islands, remained suspended in many areas due to rough seas.

The national weather service warned of continued severe conditions, forecasting intense rainfall, thunderstorms and possible hail across much of the country.

Localized flooding has already been reported in several areas.On Wednesday, flights to Crete were disrupted after an African dust storm reduced visibility, forcing some aircraft to reroute.

Officials said the storm system, which has affected large parts of the country for three days, is expected to ease by Friday.

Dendias and Greek Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos met earlier on Tuesday with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhain in Riyadh.

“We signed an agreement to move a Patriot battery here in Saudi Arabia,” Dendias said in a press release, adding that he also signed a cooperation agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

“This is a big step forward for our country regarding the cooperation with the Gulf countries and also a contribution to the wider security of the energy sources for the West,” he added.

The U.S.-made Patriot system will be used to protect critical energy facilities in the kingdom, a Greek diplomat said.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which is battling a Saudi-led coalition that intervened in the country’s war in 2015, has stepped up drone and missile attacks on Saudi targets in recent weeks.

The Patriot system is designed mainly to counter high-altitude ballistic missile attacks, which the kingdom has often had to deal with since intervening in Yemen.