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Heavy storms triggered floods on Crete, a Greek holiday island, trapping some people in vehicles and forcing tourists to evacuate, local officials said Saturday.
"We had to evacuate a few tourists and a woman had to be taken to hospital as a precaution," the mayor of the Cretan port of Ierapetra, Manolis Frangoulis, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Torrential rain battered the town on Crete's southeast coast Friday and Saturday, blocking roads strewn with debris. "We have cars in the sea and all the department is working to at least re-establish transport," Frangoulis added.
Flooding stranded 23 people in vehicles on the Ierapetra-Sitia road, state broadcaster ERT reported. 3 tourists and their taxi driver abandoned their vehicle after flood waters began sweeping it away, ERT added.
Giant waves hit Canea, a popular tourist destination, damaging seafront restaurants and venues catering to visitors at its port. The civil protection agency urged residents of several towns to limit their movements.
Nikos Syrigonakis, the deputy governor of the Heraklion region, said emergency services worked to remove debris from nearby roads and clear small landslides. Services remained on high alert, tracking water levels in streams and rivers, he told ANA, the Greek news agency.
The Greek national observatory said 42 cm of rain fell in the Canea department from Friday through 3:50 p.m. GMT (6:50 p.m.) Saturday. Winds reached up to 8 and 9 on the Beaufort Scale, the EMY weather service said.
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