2023-07-23 03:40:11
The pictures are impressive. More than thirty boats participated this Saturday in an evacuation operation on the tourist island of Rhodes, Greece, where a forest fire has been raging for five days. According to the Greek coastguard, the evacuees were on the beaches of Kiotari and Lardos, on the east coast of this Mediterranean island.
Three coastguard boats were carrying out this operation, in which more than thirty private boats participated, while a Greek navy vessel was heading towards the area. More than 1,500 people have already been evacuated to another beach, according to media reports.
Warned by text, the tourists tried to go to the beach with their suitcases. Some had strollers with children, while others were unable to contact their airline and missed their flights. According to local authorities, some 30,000 people were able to leave the threatened areas by any means.
The most difficult fire
According to the ERT television channel, firefighters had to take refuge in the monastery of Ypseni, near Lardos. Firefighters and their commander were left stranded in the monastery after trying to convince the nuns there to leave.
According to the deputy fire chief, Yannis Artapoios, this fire which started in a mountain in the center of the island is the most difficult that the firefighters of Rhodes have faced. Five helicopters and 173 firefighters are engaged to fight the fire. Three hotels in the Kiotari sector suffered damage.
Impressive images of evacuations in Rhodes, where hundreds of people are forced to walk on the roads to get away from the fires.
Out of control, the fires have been ravaging the Greek island for three days. pic.twitter.com/VM6LMczmzX
— Alexandros Kottis (@alexandros_kts) July 22, 2023
Greece is currently experiencing an exceptionally long heat wave, with temperatures expected to rise above 44°C this weekend. “We are likely to experience a 16-17 day heat wave, which has never happened before in our country,” Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development at the National Observatory in Athens, told ERT television. In 24 hours, 46 new fires broke out in the country, according to firefighters.
In Greece, all archaeological sites will continue to keep their doors closed during the hottest hours. Tourists will only be allowed to enter Athens’ famous Acropolis until 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. “We need absolute vigilance (…) because the difficult times have not passed,” warned Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “We are facing a new heat wave” and “a possible strengthening of the winds” which have already been fanning several fires around the capital since Monday, he added.
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