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A man has drowned as a storm has reportedly battered Crete, causing rivers to overflow and flooding parts of Greece’s largest island.
The worst damage appears to have occurred in the seaside town of Agia Pelagia, about 16 miles northwest of Crete’s largest city, Heraklio.
Here, firefighters found the body of a 50-year-old man whose car was swept away by rough waters.
A woman in the same vehicle was reported missing, the state-run Athens news agency said.
Divers from the Coast Guard and Fire Department’s Special Disaster Unit are looking for her.
High winds also blow over much of the island.
Video showed at least 10 cars, including a refrigerator, floating in rough seas and other debris near the narrow beach of Agia Pelagia.
Firefighters rescued a woman who was trapped in the car, which was then swept into the sea. Authorities said they were investigating more reports of missing persons and were concerned that others might be trapped in their cars.
Residents in the Lasithi area on the east side of the island have been warned by text messages not to leave their homes.
In the city of Chania on the western tip of the island, houses were flooded, according to district officials.
Four people were trapped in two vehicles in the city of Sitia, on the eastern end of Chania, about 165 miles from Chania, local police said, while nine others – eight tourists and a guard – were trapped in the town’s Inside the Archaeological Museum.
In Heraklio itself, several roads were flooded and the city’s international airport was closed because its runway was underwater.
“No one knows when flights will resume,” airport manager Giorgos Pliakas told a local news site.
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