OLYMPIADA, Chalkidiki – Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos called on the country’s regional authorities to be on high alert against the incoming weather front codenamed ‘Geryon’, which is expected to hit the country on Sunday evening, during a broad emergency meeting of relevant authorities on Saturday.

Panagiotopoulos was speaking with local authorities at the town of Olympiada, in the northeastern part of the peninsula of Chalkidiki, where he paid an exigent visit early on Saturday morning to help assess flood damages from the severe rainfall that hit the area overnight.

“There is no time to waste,” Panagiotopoulos stressed during a broad meeting attended by the chiefs of the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, the fire brigade, central and local government officials.

The minister underlined there is a need for vigilance and avid planning over the next few hours to avoid what he called the worst outcome, in view of the incoming Geryon weather front.