Man missing in Crete flood found dead, as ND sends teams to assess damage
A 61-year-old livestock farmer who went missing on the island of Crete after his car was swept away in a flood on Monday afternoon has been found dead.
The body of the father of five was found around noon on Tuesday in a gully between Georgoupoli and Vryses, in Hania, around 4 kilometers from where he was last seen struggling to drive through a flash flood caused by heavy rain to check on his animals.
The storm, dubbed Okeanis by the National Observatory's weather service, caused severe floods in many parts of Crete, knocking out roads and at least two small bridges.
The worst of the damage was seen in the region on Hania, where a state of emergency has been declared.
Opposition New Democracy, meanwhile, is sending two teams to the island on Wednesday to assess the damage. The first, headed by Dora Bakoyannis, will inspect conditions in Hania and the other, under the supervision of the conservative party's political committee secretary, Lefteris Avgenakis, will head to Rethymno and Iraklio.
“The government must take meaningful initiatives to provide immediate support to these areas and must work effectively with local authorities for the swiftest possible repair of the infrastructure that has been damaged,” New Democracy said in an announcement on Tuesday.
Infrastructure Ministry officials and experts traveled by helicopter to Crete on Monday to assess the extent of the damage. Regional Governor Stavros Arnaoutakis said damage could reach dozens of millions of euros, according to Reuters.
"It's been raining for six days non-stop, I mean (a) storm, not just rain, an incredible amount of water," Nikos Lagoudakis, a senior fire brigade official, told Reuters on Monday. [Kathimerini/Reuters]
