Freak storm carpets Crete motorway with hail

Thunderstorms and torrential hail hit the popular tourist island of Crete of Tuesday as a storm swept through southern areas of Greece in the early hours.

People in Heraklion and Chania, the island’s biggest cities, woke to the sounds of the pounding rain after midnight. Greek media showed images of a main motorway on the island blanketed white by a heavy coating of hail and workers shovelling piled up hail from streets in the coastal town of Malia.

Police have not reported any serious damage from the storm.

Greece’s weather service said the storms and hail on Crete would continue throughout the day and might also hit the southern part of the Peloponnese peninsula.

Four people died, while houses and businesses suffered heavy damage after a storm with fierce winds pounded central Greece last month.

Flash floods in 2017 killed 25 people and left hundreds homeless. 

[Reuters]