Crete on ice

Snow ploughs and emergency service crews have worked all day Friday trying to keep the main roads to mountain villages in all Crete prefectures.

The road to Kallikratis in Chania  remains closed as the snow continued to fall. Anogia in Rethymnon is covered under 30 cm (1ft) of snow. The council managed to keep the  Anogia to Rethymnon  road open but there is no information on the state of the road beyond Anogia which was blocked on Friday morning.

Conditions are said to be very  difficult in the whole of the  Lasithi plain where a family is completely cut off in their house at a remote location near Neapolis with emergency services trying for most of the day open the road.

The road to Omalos remains closed.

Emergency services are working very hard to rescue people who were trapped in their cars by the heavy snow falls.  Authorities are again advising against all non essential travel outside the main roads.

Several villages in Sfakia were without electricity on Thursday evening after thunder hit an electricity pylon.

Strong winds on Thursday evening brought down trees blocking roads in many parts of Crete. Ferry services were disrupted and several flights were delayed because of the winds.

More photos of Anogia under a blanket of snow at  anogi.gr