DOZENS of cars have been damaged after a flash flood struck an Athens suburb following torrential rain.

The Greek capital’s fire department received 140 calls for assistance and to pump water from flooded homes and businesses.

Fire crews headed to a car park in the suburb of Maroussi to see if there were any people trapped in cars that were bobbing in a suddenly created muddy lake.

The National:

Authorities urged drivers to avoid the area and shut down a side road off the main highway leading north out of Athens.

READ MORE: Death toll reaches 79 but is expected to rise after Greek wildfires

The flash flood comes three days after a devastating wildfire north east of Athens killed at least 82 people and injured more than 180.

Rescue crews and volunteers are continuing to search on land and at sea for potential further victims from Greece’s deadliest forest fires for decades.

Frantic relatives looking for missing loved ones have been heading to the morgue in Athens.

Those arriving at the morgue were being informed of the necessary steps to match the missing and the dead, including providing DNA samples and dental records.

A fire broke out north-east of Athens in the area of Rafina, a seaside resort of permanent residences and holiday homes popular with Athenians and tourists.

It swept through the area fanned by gale-force winds.

Hundreds fled to nearby beaches, with many swimming out to sea to escape the ferocious flames and choking smoke that killed 81 people.

The National:

Dozens spent hours at sea before being picked up by coast guard vessels, fishing boats and a passing ferry. Several of the dead were people who drowned.

WATCH: Three wildfires are tearing through the Highlands 

The worst-affected area was the seaside community of Mati, where the majority of victims were found, including 26 people found huddled together, many embracing.

Defence minister Panos Kammenos visited Mati this morning and was heckled by distraught men and women, who accused authorities of not doing enough in the initial hours of the fire.

“People died for nothing,” one woman sobbed at the minister.