Featured image courtesy of Cycle 365 blog

Flash flooding has caused severe damage throughout Crete after record torrential rainfall deluged the island.

Six people have died as a result of the flooding including a shepherd who was swept away in a rugged current of mud and rainfall.

Landslides have been reported throughout the island but the region around Hania on its west side has been hit the most.

Almost a dozen bridges were washed away, including the more than 100-year-old historic Keritis Bridge near the village of Alikianos. The bridge collapsed live on local news.

Keritis Bridge is an important landmark to many in the region since it was the spot where a mass execution by Nazi German forces took place on August 1, 1941.

After forcing more than 100 men from the village of Alikianos and the surrounding region to dig their own graves, the Nazis shot them by firing squad on the bridge.

The exact moment of its collapse was captured live by New Crete TV (see below).