Just two months ago, residents of the Greek island of Evia were battling intense wildfires.

Now another disaster has struck: Floods.

People in the towns of Agia Anna, Kostikia and Achladi, woke up to find flooded basements and roads had been destroyed.

Local resident Maria began cleaning her house and restaurant after tones of mud water swept through her properties.

"Overnight we heard a loud sound that was getting closer and closer, as the river was filling up with water. I was here alone with my husband and we rushed fast on to the first floor away from the stream. We literally got up a few seconds before the water came into our restaurant. We couldn't do anything but sit and look until the sunrise. 

"This never happened before, with so much water, maybe it's because of the fires. And just as we were bouncing back from the destruction of the fires, there are floods," said local resident Maria Spanou.

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Extreme rainfall broke records last weekend in parts of Greece, bringing intense downpours.  A storm called "Athena" has been buffeting northern and central Greece with a weather station recording close to 700mm of rain since last weekend.

In Evia there have been no casualties from the heavy rains that hit the northern part of the island, but dozens of residents had to flee their homes as rocks, debris and mud reached one meter high.

Roads became impassable and beaches were filled with mud sliding down from nearby mountains, devoid of vegetation since the fire.

"Over 500,000 hectares of forest have been burned and as a consequence we experienced floods, which destroyed an important part of the infrastructure. It has only been about two months since the fires.

"We are working day and night to create flood defenses, but unfortunately the area is too big, we have time against us. The government need to change it's bureaucracy so we can speed up the defenses," said Giorgos Tsabourniotis Mayor of Limni, Agia Anna and Achladi.

The Greek government announced emergency funding of $23 million this weekend, aimed at boosting northern Evia's flood defenses.

A number of bulldozers have been already begun cleaning up and opening roads while residents take stock of the damage.

But the Greek meteorological center is predicting more rain this week, possibly double the amount that has already fallen.  

Scientists say there's no doubt climate change caused by the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, is driving extreme events such as heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods and storms.