By Natasha Pavlopoulou

ATHENS, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Four people were missing in Greece on Sunday, after a powerful Mediterranean cyclone hit several parts of the country, according to Greek national news agency AMNA.

The hardest-hit areas so far have been around the cities of Corinth and Argos in Peloponnese peninsula which was hit by strong storms and winds on Saturday, and the northern part of the island of Evia, 80 km north of Athens, where three people went missing.

The civil protection service has launched a search and rescue operation for a young man and a middle-aged couple, according to Greek national broadcaster ERT.

A fourth person, a 74-year-old shepherd who tried to protect his animals from the heavy rainfall, was reported missing in Volos, a coastal port city in Thessaly, about 330 kilometers north of Athens.

Local governor Costas Bakoyiannis declared the areas of Lokros in Fthiotida and Limni-Mandoudi in Evia in a state of emergency. "We fought a great battle and continue to fight with water and mud," Bakoyiannis told AMNA.

Damages have been also caused in the municipalities of Kiato and Velo-Vocha on the Gulf of Corinth, where the water supply has been interrupted. Around 15,000 inhabitants have been left without water and bridges have been demolished.

The extreme weather phenomenon also flooded roads in capital Athens, forced evacuations, and disrupted traffic in many other areas across the country, and caused the sinking of fourteen ships moored at the port of Kalamata, the second most populous city of Peloponnese.

Many ships remained docked at ports on Sunday, while gale-force winds led to power cuts and falling trees across the country.

According to Greek meteorologists, the phenomenon weakens and will be over on Monday.