EMY: extraordinary alert, Fire Service on alert

The Hellenic National Meteorological Service issued an Extraordinary Weather Deterioration Alert (EDEK) on Friday, September 25, 2026, warning of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms expected to develop from Friday evening. In an announcement dated September 25, 2026, at 14:53, the Hellenic Fire Service announced that it had been placed on operational alert in accordance with the EMY alert, in anticipation of the expected weather deterioration. Shortly earlier, at 13:58 of the same day, the website Nea Kriti had already reported the issuance of the EMY extraordinary alert, mentioning heavy rainfall and thunderstorms expected to strike the country from Friday evening onwards.

The issuance of extraordinary weather deterioration alerts by the EMY constitutes an established procedure prior to episodes of heavy rainfall, and is typically accompanied by corresponding activation of civil protection mechanisms at central and local levels. In this case, the Hellenic Fire Service reported that it is on heightened alert, yet has not published, so far and according to the two available reports, a detailed list of areas expected to be most affected, quantitative information about rainfall amounts or wind intensity. This is similar to the precautionary alert logic that was activated in previous episodes of severe weather phenomena during September, such as with the heavy rainfall that had been previously announced by the EMY (EMY: warning for rain, thunderstorms until Wednesday), a fact that demonstrates a period of increased frequency of extraordinary weather alerts for the country.

The placement of the Hellenic Fire Service on operational alert signifies that competent services are preparing for possible incidents related to severe weather phenomena, such as flooding in areas with inadequate stormwater drainage, falling trees or other related incidents that typically accompany episodes of intense thunderstorms. Citizens in areas that will ultimately be affected are called to follow the usual self-protection guidelines issued by authorities in such cases, to avoid unnecessary travel to areas with drainage problems or near streams, and to monitor official announcements. Since the EMY alert is not detailed here at the level of regional distribution of phenomena, rainfall amounts or wind intensity, as these details are not included in the two reports that serve as the source of this article, those seeking details for their own area are referred to the official announcements of the EMY and Civil Protection.

The state of alert of the Hellenic Fire Service is expected to remain in effect for as long as the episode described in the EMY extraordinary alert persists, with phenomena placed temporally from Friday evening, September 25, 2026, and thereafter. No end time for the episode has been announced, nor additional information beyond what is included in the two available announcements, from the Hellenic Fire Service and Nea Kriti. The authorities are expected to update their announcements according to weather developments in the coming hours, while citizens are urged to monitor the official communication channels of the EMY, Civil Protection and the Hellenic Fire Service for any further guidance and possible changes in the forecast.