Heavy storms lash western Greece, two dead from lightning strike

ATHENS (Reuters) - Thunderstorms swept western Greece on Tuesday causing flooding, power outages and claiming the lives of two people struck by lightning.

The storms battered the islands of Ithaca and Cephalonia in the Ionian Sea and western Peloponnese, causing mudslides in some areas. The heavy weather was expected to move eastward and wane by Wednesday morning.

The Athens national observatory's Zeus system recorded more than 10,500 lightning bolts by 1000 GMT, more than half over the sea. Lightning struck a palm tree in Cephalonia, causing a fire in a residential area.

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)