Tropical storm changes course on way to Turkey

A powerful tropical storm, called Zorba, has made landfall on the mainland Greece and changed course, alarming a new set of towns on Turkey’s west coast, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Also dubbed “Medicane” as a combination of the words "Mediterranean" and "hurricane", which it was earlier predicted to turn into, the storm brought torrential rain to the southwestern tip of Greece’s Peloponnese region on Sept. 29 as winds of up to 90 kph (55 mph) were reported in the area.

The storm was expected to roll toward the Greek and Turkish islands in the Aegean Sea and Turkey’s west coast on Sept. 30. Its change of course toward a land mass prevented it from hitting Turkey as a hurricane, which would be a first in modern history, according to local media reports.