Snow damage in Heraklion, 2008
Animal husbandry, apiary and vegetable-growing are the sectors which suffered the most damage from the recent snows in Crete.
Following the recent snowfall and storms over the three-day period of 16-18 February 2008, the damage to flocks is estimated at 20% and that to dairy production at 30-40%!
Bee-keeping recorded losses of up to 20-30%, while over 50% of open-air crops has been destroyed, in some cases reaching 100%.
Fortunately the olive harvest was 90% over, so the snow did not hit olive oil production, although 30% of the fruit on the remaining trees has been lost.
Old greenhouses were unable to bear the weight of the snow, their plastic tearing or their wooden frameworks collapsing. Tomato, cucumber and melon crops were affected by the very low temperatures to different extents (30-100%), while their future quality and quantity will be affected.
50%-100% of the open-air potato and other vegetable crops in the Messara and the other departments of Heraklion Prefecture was lost. The area affected covers over 3,000,000 square metres.