The skies appeared almost apocalyptic over Crete (Picture: EPA)
Skies over the Greek island of Crete have turned blood red and flights arebeing diverted as a cloud of dust from the Sahara drifts over the region.
Planes have been grounded at the island’s main airport in Heraklion, while a British Airways service from London was rerouted to Corfu.
Another flight from Brussels was diverted to Athens after the thick dustreduced visibility to around 1,000 metres – a point at which it is considered unsafe to land.
Weather experts warned the phenomenon – known as a ‘calima’ – had led to extremely high levels of dust with more than 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre of air.
The Greek national meterological service placed a red warning over the island for heavy rain and violent thunderstorms as Storm Erminio hits.
Flooding from the rain will pose a ‘significant risk to life and evacuations are possible’, HNMS said, while the storms will also result in ‘danger to life from lightning, hail, flooding and storm damage’.
The entire Greek mainland and many islands have also been given yellow and orange warnings for rain and storms, with only the Dodecanese islands off the coast of Turkey avoiding the worst of the weather.
A man takes a picture of the bizarre scene in Heraklion (Picture: EPA)
A man was found dead under a car early this morning in the Nea Makri close to Athens, the local fire department said.
The dust placed a filter-like tint over the island (Picture: Eleftherios Elis/AFP via Getty Images)
Trees have been uprooted, a wall at a ceramics factory has collapsed and greenhouses have been damaged in gale-force winds.
Some schools have also been closed amid the storm.
Some locals were brave enough to venture into the dense cloud (Picture: EPA)
The ‘calima’ is expected to only last a day or two (Picture: Eleftherios Elis / AFP via Getty Images)
A tornado reportedly flipped a truck that was preparing to be loaded with agricultural exports in Pachia Ammos in the north of Crete.
In Chania, on the north-west coast, a light rain mixed with the dust to land as mud on houses, cars and streets.
Amber warnings will remain in place on Crete and a number of eastern islands tomorrow, while yellow warnings continue to cover much of the mainland.
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