evacuation

SEVERE storms have caused flooding on a popular Greek holiday island.

Crete in Greece is currently suffering from mass flooding causing widespread disruption across the island including some tourists being evacuated from coastal accommodation.

Some cars and trees have even been washed into the sea.

Here is the current advice for travel to or from Crete right now:

Where is the flooding?

Flooding in Greece right now is mainly impacting the island of Crete.

Massive storms have been battering the island since October 1 and resulted in torrential rainfall with bad flooding and mudslides.

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Worst hit areas include the Milopotamos district and the village of Zoniana, as well as Kato Gouves, Finikia, and Heraklion city.

In Chania, there have been big waves as well which have damaged seafront restaurants.

Is it safe to travel to Crete right now?

There is currently a Red Alert warning in Crete, which has been issued by the local authorities and the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY).

Emergency services are still currently clearing mudslides and damage caused by the flooding.

The advice from GOV.UK reads:

“Greece can experience extreme natural phenomena such as earthquakes, wildfires, extreme heat and flash floods.

“To be alerted to events near where you are located in Greece, make sure your mobile phone is set to allow emergency alerts.

“For instructions on how to do this see:

• for iPhones go to Settings > Notifications and enable the ‘Emergency Alerts’ option at the bottom
• for Android 11 and higher go to Settings > Notifications > Advanced Settings > Wireless Emergency Alerts
• for Samsung devices go to Settings > Apps > Messages > Notifications > Emergency Notifications and enable the ‘Emergency Alerts’ option

“This will allow the Greek government’s Emergency Communication Service alerts to reach you. Always keep your phone with you as you will receive alerts according to the location of your phone.

“Adverse weather conditions, including floods, can happen quickly. Register for Emergency alerts and follow ‘112 Greece’ on X for official updates.”

Are flights still going to Crete?

Currently, flights are not impacted to or from Crete.

However, if you are already in Crete and need to get to the airport you may want to allow for more extra time.

If you are due to fly in and have concerns, it may be worth contacting your airline to check if they are operating normally.

What if I have a holiday to Crete booked?

As the Foreign Office has not warned against travel to Greece, there are no special circumstances in place for holidaymakers to cancel their trip and receive a full refund.

Depending on what travel insurance you have, your policy might include natural disaster cover.

If so, your insurance policy should cover you for when you are unable to reach your holiday destination due to natural disasters, like wildfires.

So it is worth checking your travel insurance policy.

Can I cancel my trip?

If you do choose to cancel your trip, it is best to contact your airline or holiday provider.

There is no obligation for companies to refund bookings unless government advice changes.

Germany – a fellow Nato ally – pledged to permanently station a combat-ready brigade in Lithuania in 2023 as a response to the changing security situation in Europe.

It is expected to be operational by 2027 and to number about 5,000 soldiers and civilian employees, though it has failed to recruit enough personnel voluntarily and is now turning to compulsory assignments to fill some positions.

The majority of troops will be based in Rūdninkai, near the Suwałki Gap – a line that borders Lithuania and Poland and also links Belarus with Russia’s Kaliningrad.

Nato said that as of December last year it had more than 5,000 troops stationed in Lithuania.

The origins of last week’s drone incident over Lithuania have not been confirmed, however Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told Newshour that it had come from the direction of Belarus.

UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Thanks to the swift and professional actions of Lithuanian and Italian forces, Nato once again demonstrated our readiness to protect our airspace.

“We stand united, around the clock, in defence of every inch of Nato territory.”

Moscow did not comment on the incident.

Military drone incursions have become increasingly common across Europe since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale of invasion of Ukraine.

Residents in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius were also forced to take shelter in May after a drone alert was triggered, briefly grounding flights and rail travel.

Nato jets have scrambled multiple times to shoot down stray Ukrainian drones that have crossed into fellow Baltic countries Estonia and Latvia this year.

Ukraine has blamed the stray drones on Russian electronic warfare, technology designed to change the flight paths of Ukrainian drones.

Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia all joined Nato in 2004, becoming signatories to the Article 5 provision that states “an armed attack against one Nato member shall be considered an attack against all members”.