Tourists wait on a beach before being evacuated from Rhodes island in Greece, July 22, 2023. ARGYRIS MANTIKOS / AP
More than twenty boats took part in a massive evacuation operation on Saturday, July 22, on the tourist island of Rhodes, Greece, where a forest fire broke out five days ago. According to the Greek Coast Guard, the evacuees were on the beaches of Kiotari and Lardos on the east coast of this Mediterranean island. According to the local authorities, around 30,000 people were able to leave the threatened areas by all means.
Three Coast Guard boats carried out this operation involving more than twenty private boats while a Hellenic Navy vessel was en route to the area.
Above, tweet from a Greek journalist: “Scenes of chaos in Rhodes. »
Above, tweet from a British tourist: “We had to walk 6 kilometers on dirt roads in smoke and ash with a 5-year-old child.” With no help or contact. »
According to TV channel ERT, firefighters had to take refuge in the monastery of Panagia Ipseni near Lardos. The firefighters and their commander got stuck there after trying to persuade the nuns present there to leave.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers Fires are recurring in Greece and prevention is still lacking
Deputy Fire Chief Yannis Artapoios said the fire that broke out in a mountain in the center of the island was the biggest challenge for Rhodes firefighters. Five helicopters and 173 firefighters are deployed to fight the fire. Three hotels in the Kiotari sector were damaged.
Building of a hotel destroyed by the fire that devastated the island of Rhodes on July 22, 2023 in Greece. EUROKINISSI v AFP
“Probably” the longest heat wave
Greece is currently experiencing an exceptionally long heatwave, with temperatures expected to exceed 44 degrees this weekend. “According to our data, we are likely to experience a 16-17 day heatwave, which has never happened in our country before,” Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the National Observatory in Athens, told TV.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers Greece is experiencing the longest heat wave in its history, the weekend is set to break heat records
In Greece, all archaeological sites, including the famous Acropolis in Athens, remain closed during the hottest hours until Sunday. “We need absolute vigilance (…) because the difficult times are not over yet,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned. “We are facing a new heat wave” and “a possible strengthening of the winds” that have already fueled several fires around the capital since Monday, he added.
On July 22, 2023, forest fires raged on the Greek island of Rhodes. PICTURE ALLIANCE / DPA/PICTURE ALLIANCE VIA GETTY I
Temperatures of up to 45 degrees are expected in Central Greece on Saturday. According to the National Observatory of Athens, the absolute record in the capital was measured in June 2007 with 44.8 degrees. At the national level, it was established in July 1977 with 48 degrees in Eleusis, near Athens.