The sea of flames in Rhodes is still not under control.
© via Portal/EUROKINISSI
The heat wave in southern Europe continues: a huge forest fire is out of control in Rhodes.
On the Greek island of Rhodes, thousands of tourists and residents were saved from the flames of a wildfire. A government official said that a total of around 19,000 people were evacuated from their homes and hotels. Many of them spent Sunday night in emergency shelters such as schools and sports halls. Others had to sleep outside.
“Now we house 4,000 to 5,000 people in different facilities,” Thanasis Virinis, local deputy mayor, told broadcaster Mega. Mattresses and bedding would be required. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s office announced on Sunday morning that this was the largest evacuation operation ever carried out in Greece.
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A spokesman for the fire department told Skai that the evacuees had been given food and water and were receiving medical care. Tour operators are therefore working closely with local authorities and working hard to find solutions. Collection points are planned in the north of the island for affected vacationers until the fires are extinguished. “The top priority is the protection of life and limb,” he said. Vacationers wishing to travel to Rhodes in the next few days would be contacted by their tour operators and informed of the possibility of making the trip.
Many people fled hotels as the fire front hit the coastal villages of Kiotari, Gennadi, Pefki, Lindos, Lardos and Kalathos. There were some dramatic scenes on the island: “We were walking down the street at two in the morning and the fire caught us,” one tourist told Sky News, adding: “I didn’t think we were going to make it.” The woman was eventually taken to safety with her 11-year-old daughter at a school in the northern part of the island.
Up to 45 degrees Celsius
The fire brigade battled the flames in Rhodes on Sunday with support from firefighting planes and helicopters on three fronts. She set up firebreaks. Travel group TUI, which currently has around 39,000 guests in Rhodes, has announced that all flights to the island have been canceled until and including Tuesday. “Customers currently in Rhodes will return on their scheduled flight home,” it said in a statement. British airline Jet2 has canceled all flights to the island for Sunday.
Coast Guard vessels and dozens of private boats evacuated more than 2,000 tourists from the beaches on Saturday. Strong winds had already fanned the fire in the southeast part of the island. Since the fire broke out on Tuesday, large areas of forest and several buildings have been engulfed in flames. Greek civil defense also warned again on Sunday of a very high risk of forest fires in almost half of the country due to the ongoing heatwave. Temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius were expected there.
strong heat wave
Fires are common in Greece, but hotter, drier and windier summers have led to an increase in fires in recent years. A World Meteorological Organization (WMO) consultant said climate change would make heat waves more frequent.
Greek civil defense warned of an extremely high risk of forest fires in large parts of Greece on Sunday. In addition to Rhodes, the five highest alert level also applies to central Greece, the west and north-east of the Peloponnese peninsula, the greater Athens area and the island of Euboea. For days now, a strong heat wave with temperatures above 40 degrees in many places has kept the country under control. Even before that, it was hot and dry for a long time.
The big fire in Rhodes lasts almost a week. It had erupted on a mountain in the center of the island. Five helicopters and about 200 firefighters were mobilized to fight the fire.
Heat wave expected in Sardinia and Sicily
In Italy, too, there is still no end in sight to the heat wave. Italian meteorologists expect a new one early next week heat wave. so be between Sardinia It is Sicilia temperatures of 47 to 48 degrees possible, wrote the meteorological service Ilmeteo.it on Saturday. He spoke of a “Charon bis” (Charon with encore), alluding to last week’s loud “Charon”. Charon is the Italian name for Charon, the ferryman of the underworld in Greek and Roman mythology.
Global heat record in jeopardy?
In Death Valley, California, 500 kilometers away, the hottest place on earth, tourists have been taking selfies with the temperature display in front of the visitor center for days. Many hope that the July 2013 global heat record of 56.7 degrees Celsius will be broken – which many experts say is due to incorrect measurement.
Disaster tourism in Death Valley poses risks to life and limb: Just days ago, a 71-year-old man from Los Angeles collapsed in front of a bathroom on a hiking trail in the national park and died.
A wildfire in Washington state destroyed more than 12,000 hectares of land in one day over the weekend. Nearly 1,000 wildfires are still raging in neighboring Canada. In Canada’s particularly intense wildfire season this year, 11.3 million hectares of land have already burned.
According to scientists, extreme weather events such as heat waves are increasing in intensity and frequency as a result of climate change.
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