Lasithi: landslides cut roads in Myrtos

Heavy rainfall hit Myrtos in Lasithi on Monday 28 September 2026, causing landslides at points in the local road network. According to CRETA24, large quantities of rocks and sediment ended up on the roadway, cutting off traffic on sections of roads in the area. Striking were the images captured in a video posted on TikTok, which quickly went viral on social media. In the footage, drivers who found themselves trapped appear to climb out of their vehicles and attempt, with their own hands, to remove the rocks that had blocked the passage, in order to restore transit to and from Lasithi.

The phenomenon is part of a broader wave of bad weather that hit Crete on Monday morning. According to data from the network of automatic weather stations of the National Observatory of Athens/meteo.gr, as presented by CRETA24, the island recorded eight of the largest daily rainfall records in the entire country, with Tzermiado, on the Lasithi plateau, recording 8 millimetres of rain. Monday’s rainfall came after an already particularly wet two-day period in the country, with several areas having suffered damage in previous days. In Myrtos, as noted by CRETA24, the rain continued to fall with intensity, while water pouring down from the slopes of the surrounding mountain had covered sections of the roadway.

The combined scenario of rain, sediment and water flooding the road significantly hampered the passage of vehicles in the Myrtos area. Despite the adverse weather conditions, residents who were present in the area attempted to create, at least temporarily, a safe passage, so that vehicles that had been stranded could continue on their way. The image of drivers removing rocks by hand, amid continuing rainfall, captures the access difficulties that bad weather can create in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas of Lasithi, especially when rainfall is sudden and intense.

By Monday evening 28 September 2026, no public announcement from responsible authorities regarding possible cleanup interventions or technical inspection at the affected points had been recorded, according to reports available at that time. CRETA24, which published the images first, noted that the rainfall continued with intensity at those hours, a factor that leaves open the possibility of further events in the same area. The report was included in broader media coverage of rainfall in Crete, with reference to detailed meteorological data for the day. It is not yet known whether material damage to vehicles or adjacent properties occurred, nor whether heavy machinery intervention was needed to clean the roadway, as available reports make no mention of this. It also remains unclear for how long transit remained blocked at the points where rocks fell. Developments in Lasithi are expected to be monitored in the coming hours, as during periods of heavy rainfall, landslides in mountainous sections of the road network can be repeated at the same locations.