Fierce rainstorms have battered Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, triggering flooding that caused at least eight deaths, including two holidaymakers swept away by a torrent that raged through a campsite in northwestern Turkey.

In Istanbul, heavy rain flooded streets and homes in two neighbourhoods, killing at least two people, according to a statement from the governor’s office.

About a dozen people were rescued after being stranded inside a library, while some subway stations were shut down.

In Greece, police banned traffic in the central town of Volos, the nearby mountain region of Pilion and the resort island of Skiathos as record rainfall caused at least one death, channelled thigh-high torrents through streets and swept cars away.

Five people were reported missing, possibly swept away by floodwaters.

Authorities sent mobile phone alerts in several other areas of central Greece, the Sporades island chain and the island of Evia, warning people to limit their movements outdoors.

Streams overflowed their banks and swept cars into the sea in the Pilion area, while rockfalls blocked roads; a small bridge was carried away and many areas suffered electricity cuts.

Authorities evacuated a retirement home in the city of Volos as a precaution.

Farther north in Bulgaria, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said, two people died and three others were missing after a storm caused floods on the country’s southern Black Sea coast.

Overflowing rivers caused severe damage to roads and bridges. The area also suffered power blackouts, and authorities warned residents not to drink tap water due to contamination from floodwaters.