Crete region has been inundated with heavy rainfall, high seas, and winds for the last few weeks. This past weekend the “Oceanis” cold wave brought thick snowfall to western Crete, and torrents of hale to parts of southern and central Rethymno and Heraklion prefectures.
On Sunday morning, the meteorological service in Athens recorded temperatures below zero degrees Celsius across most parts of northern and central Greece, with the highest temperatures, were observed in Crete and the Dodecanese, where heavy rainfall resulted.
At the same time, gale-force northeasterly winds reaching up to 10 on the Beaufort scale are still sweeping over the Aegean and all along the Gulf of Corinth, according to the service.
Crete is feeling the full force of an uncharacteristically extreme weather phenomenon. Parts of the national highway and the provincial roads are either damaged or covered in mud due to landslides caused by heavy rains. A large part of the national highway, at the height of Platani, towards Rethymno has been covered in mud, while a landslide has also caused the roads at areas of Agios Fanourios and Agious Pantes on the network.
The Greek Meteorological Services forecast the extreme conditions would continue to plague the island on Tuesday too. Local authorities have advised citizens to avoid any unnecessary travel for safety reasons. In Chania prefecture, roads and infrastructure were already damaged by these winter storms, and the new storm has caused large boulders to roll out onto highways in the Chania-Kissamos national highway making driving along the road extremely dangerous.
In Fodele, which lies just to the west of Heraklion, the river that leads to the sea is swollen and threatening to overflow its banks. Meanwhile, in Agia Galina sheets of rain and sleet pelted the southern coastal town over the weekend.