Storms, flooding cause chaos on Greek holiday island of Crete

Heavy storms and flooding have caused chaos on the Greek holiday island of Crete, according to local officials. Flooding trapped some people in their cars and prompted the evacuation of a few tourists, with one woman taken to the hospital as a precaution. Mayor Manolis Frangoulis of the Cretan port city of Ierapetra reported that cars are now stranded in the sea and the entire department is working to restore transport.

Roads filled with debris were left cut off by torrential rain that persisted over the weekend. In the town between Ierapetra and Sitia, 23 people were trapped in their cars due to flooding. Three tourists and their taxi driver were forced to abandon their vehicle after floodwaters carried away the car, according to state television channel ERT.

The civil protection agency urged residents of several towns to limit their movements. The deputy governor of the Heraklion region, Nikos Syrigonakis, stated that emergency services are clearing small landslides and removing debris from local roads. The national observatory reported that between Friday and Saturday, 42cm of rain fell in the Canea department, with wind speeds reaching up to eight and nine on the Beaufort Scale.