Storm Triggers Severe Traffic Chaos In Athens

We’re saying Καλά Χριστούγεννα with a 10% discount!

Take advantage of our Xmas offer and get 10% off all courses & lessons – book individual lessons from only 29€ per session or a 12-week group course for just 224€ 249€. Valid until 06.01.2026.

Contact us to claim your discount

The news in Greek

1. λεωφόρος  (f.)
   πλατύς, μεγάλος δρόμος σε μια πόλη, συνήθως με πολλές λωρίδες για τα αυτοκίνητα ↩︎
2. ατύχημα  (n.)
   γεγονός όπου κάποιος ή κάτι παθαίνει ζημιά χωρίς να το θέλει, συνήθως με αυτοκίνητα ή στη δουλειά ↩︎
3. κατάσταση  (f.)
   ο τρόπος που είναι τα πράγματα σε μια στιγμή, το πώς είναι μια συγκεκριμένη περίοδος ή πρόβλημα ↩︎
4. αρχή  (f.)
   οι επίσημες υπηρεσίες του κράτους, όπως η αστυνομία ή ο δήμος, που έχουν ευθύνη για κάτι ↩︎
5. υπομονή  (f.)
   η ικανότητα να περιμένεις ή να αντέχεις κάτι δύσκολο χωρίς να θυμώνεις ↩︎
6. καθυστερώ
   κάνω κάτι αργότερα από την προγραμματισμένη ώρα, δεν το κάνω τώρα αλλά μετά ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Why were the roads in Athens almost blocked on Thursday, November 27?

Question 2: What did the authorities tell drivers to do?

Vocabulary

Greek	English
λεωφόρος  (f.)	avenue / main road
ατύχημα  (n.)	accident
κατάσταση  (f.)	situation / state
αρχή  (f.)	authorities
υπομονή  (f.)	patience
καθυστερώ	to delay / to postpone

Read the full story

A strong rainstorm in Attica on Thursday, 27 November, caused serious traffic disruption across Athens, bringing the main roads of the Greek capital to a near standstill from the early morning.

The main north–south artery, the Kifisos Avenue, was described as almost impassable in both directions from around 07:00. Congestion stretched for many kilometres, especially between the districts of Aigaleo and Metamorfosi, with some reports extending the heavy traffic further south towards Renti. A road accident near Nea Filadelfeia, which caused only material damage, added to the delays and created long queues of vehicles.

Conditions were also difficult on Athinon (Athens) Avenue, a key route connecting Athens with western Attica and the Peloponnese. Traffic built up from the industrial area of through to Eleonas, and in some accounts from Chaidari towards the Merchant Marine Academy in Aspropyrgos. Nearby routes such as Schistou–Skaramagas Avenue towards the oil refineries also experienced very slow movement.

Along the coast, Poseidonos Avenue, which links Athens with Piraeus and the southern suburbs, faced severe congestion. A traffic accident towards Piraeus, again with material damage only, led to long traffic jams in both directions. Vehicles were moving slowly from near the Cultural Centre of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (KΠΙΣΝ) all the way to Alimos Avenue, a major intersection on the seafront.

The Attiki Odos, the main ring road around Athens and an important route to Elefsina in the west and the international airport in the east, also suffered major delays. Reports from the traffic service of Attiki Odos indicated waiting times of 20 to 30 minutes on several sections. Towards Elefsina, drivers faced about 5–10 minutes of delay at the exit to Lamia and up to 20 minutes between Anthousa and Kifisias Avenue, including the Ymittos ring road. In the direction of the airport, delays of 15–25 minutes were recorded from Metamorfosi or Fyli to Kifisias, with additional waiting at the Lamia exit.

Inside the city, major urban routes such as Kifisias Avenue and Mesogeion Avenue were heavily congested in both directions, according to multiple reports and live traffic cameras. The Vouliagmenis Avenue corridor, which connects central Athens with the southern suburbs, and El. Venizelou Avenue near Kareas also showed long lines of cars. One source highlighted a particularly difficult situation on the Karea–Ilioupoli–Katechaki stretch, where speeds dropped significantly.

The city centre of Athens was not spared, with many streets running at very low speeds. Traffic was also dense around the port of Piraeus, which is a crucial hub for ferries to the Greek islands. Together, these problems created what local media described as a “traffic chaos” that started earlier than usual and affected almost every driver in the metropolitan area.

While all news sources agreed that the heavy rain was a key factor in the disruption, they placed slightly different emphasis on the causes. Some highlighted the sequence of traffic accidents on Kifisos, Poseidonos and Athens Avenue as the main trigger for the long delays. Others stressed that the storm followed an already difficult previous day on the roads, suggesting that the network was already under pressure before the bad weather hit. Despite these differences in focus, the overall picture presented was consistent: the combination of intense rainfall, high morning traffic volume and minor collisions resulted in widespread congestion across most major routes in Athens.

By mid-morning, authorities and the Attiki Odos management continued to provide live traffic updates via online maps, cameras and social media, advising drivers to allow extra time for their journeys and, where possible, to avoid the most affected sections of the road network.

Info: ‘Greek Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Greek’, a language school dedicated to teaching Greek, where we offer various types of Greek lessons online for learners at different levels.