Heavy rainfall is hitting Crete, flooding roads in Heraklion and Chania.

A “river” is cutting through the streets of Palaiokastro in Heraklion, as a result of the severe downpour, with residents in the Municipality of Malevizi unable to leave their homes, as seen in the video on cretalive.gr:

In several places the roads were submerged by the water. Indicatively, on the Heraklion–Voutes road axis, the situation is extremely difficult, as according to reports, parts of the road have virtually become streams.

In a video from neakriti.gr, scenes of intense runoff are depicted, with water flowing with force, creating conditions that make vehicle movement dangerous. Drivers are forced to reduce speed or even stop completely to avoid hydroplaning or potential skidding off the road.

At the same time, there are reports of small-scale landslides on mountainous routes, although — so far — there is no information of injuries.

Authorities are appealing to drivers to be particularly cautious, to avoid unnecessary travel, and not to attempt to cross any roads where the water level is high.

“Rivers” on the streets in Chania as well

The “skies opened” in Chania too, resulting in many roads flooding and turning into rivers. According to zarpanews.gr, overflows from storm drains and sewers are observed on Apokoronou street, Eleftheriou Venizelou street, in Kalamaki, in Nea Chora, while on Kondylaki street in the old town, water entered hotel businesses. Landslides also occurred on Perivolion street.

Photos from Chania: