A man in his 50s dies while trapped in car as extensive damage in seaside villages reported
A man was found dead and two people were missing on Saturday after torrential rain brought major flooding to the Greek island of Crete, emergency workers said.
A man in his fifties died while trapped inside his car as the rains began to fall in the southern Greek island, a popular holiday destination. Local media reported extensive damage in seaside villages, where streets have become rivers carrying away everything in their path.
According to emergency services, a woman was slightly injured when she too became trapped in a car. At least nine vehicles surrounded by water still needed to be rescued on Saturday evening. The emergency services received more than 450 calls within an hour on Friday morning.
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Eight tourists and a security guard were also stranded in the archaeological museum in the coastal resort town of Sitia. All the gorges on the island, popular hiking spots for tourists, were closed to the public until further notice.
“The situation was out of control and the [weather] phenomena in the region were exceptional,” the mayor of Sitia told the Skai TV channel.
According to scientists, human-induced climate breakdown is amplifying extreme weather, such as floods, heatwaves, and droughts, resulting in more frequent and intense extreme events.
Nikos Syrigonakis, a top official for the Heraklion area, urged locals to keep their movements to a minimum. He continued, “Today is a difficult day.
All citizens in Crete and the neighboring islands of Rhodes, Karpathos, Kastellorizo, and Kasos were urged to exercise caution by the civil defense department, which announced that it had been activated.
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