© Portal/Nicolas Economou
Cooling down on Thursday can bring relaxation. But before that it will be hot again. Strong winds stoke the fires repeatedly.
Although more than 100 firefighting planes and helicopters have been in action for days, fires continue in many parts of Greece.
Civil defense announced that the risk of fire would also be extremely high on Tuesday. Firefighters from various EU countries are helping the Greeks. Turkey and Egypt also sent firefighting planes and helicopters.
➤ Read more: Escape from Greece: “The sky is gray everywhere”
The situation in the southeast of the holiday island is bad rhodes. Strong winds blow there and fan the flames repeatedly. Several houses in the island’s mountains caught fire on Monday, state television reported.
Reporters on the ground feared that these fires could again threaten hotel properties. Thousands of tourists and residents have recently been brought to safety there.
➤ Read more: Thousands leave Greece: ‘We are at war’
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna, more than 100 Austrians were evacuated from the acute fire areas in Rhodes. Until the afternoon of this Monday, the authorities did not know of any compatriot who was directly in the area of the fire.
Those affected can contact the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (+43 501150-4411) or the Embassy in Athens (+30 6944278148) at any time.
The Greek authorities have set up an assistance service at the airport. Tourists whose passports were lost during the evacuation will receive a confirmation there. Travelers can use it to board the plane without a travel document, a spokeswoman said.
Mostly suspended trips
Most tour operators have suspended travel south of Rhodes until and including Wednesday, an APA spokeswoman said. “Everyone is safe, no one was hurt,” she said. Tourists on package holidays are now being brought back to Austria as originally planned.
322 Austrians who booked through Ruefa with various organizers are currently in Rhodes, many of them in the north. “We’ve already reached most of them, they’re all fine,” the spokeswoman said.
Auch TUI Österreich react: “Alle Buchungen von TUI-Reisen nach Rhodos werden bis einschließlich Freitag, 28. Juli 2023 storniert. Es werden keine Gäste bis einschließlich Freitag auf die Insel gebracht. ere statt, um Gäste wieder in ihre Heimatländer zurückzubringen.
TUI recommends all travelers to Rhodes who plan to start their holidays in the coming days to move to other destinations. All TUI Reisen reservations for the southeastern part of the island will also be canceled until and including Sunday, July 30, 2023.”
Big damage in Rhodes
the damage up rhodes it’s already big. About 10 percent of the island’s hotels were damaged over the weekend, according to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Most of the damaged tourist facilities are located south of the Lindos region.
the island too Euboea it is devastated by fires. The region around the small port town of Karystos is particularly affected. Firefighters managed to contain a blaze on the holiday island of Corfu on Monday. About 1,000 tourists who were taken to safety have gradually returned to their hotels, local state regional broadcaster ERA-Corfu reported late on Monday.
Power outages in Malta
Other countries in the Mediterranean region are also struggling with heat and drought. Earlier in the week, the risk of forest fires was high France, Italy, Spain It is Portugal.
About Malta the high temperatures also led to power outages, some of which lasted up to 36 hours.
State-owned energy company Enemalta blamed high temperatures for damaging many of its underground cables.
Old ammo can explode
The Red Cross warned of the danger of explosions from old ammunition due to the heat wave and forest fires. In former war zones, dud detonators could be triggered by very high temperatures, said Erik Tollefsen, a weapons expert at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva.
The same applies to ammunition that has not been released at military firing ranges and abandoned ammunition depots, which are usually set up in remote areas, Tollefsen told the German Press Agency.
Meanwhile, the temporary end of Greece’s heat wave is approaching – on Thursday. Strong winds are expected to cool down to 35 degrees.
For twelve days, thermometers in most regions of the country have hovered around 40 to 45 degrees. It will be the longest heat wave, lasting more than two weeks, since measurements were taken in Greece, meteorologists said.
Before the cooling comes, there will be a final hot climax. For Tuesday and Wednesday, winds are expected coming from the direction of Libya, especially in the west of the country: It is a warm and dry autumn wind – the notorious “Livas”.
Meteorologists described the phenomenon as extremely dry and hot like air from a hair dryer.
Top-informed anytime and anywhere
Get unlimited access to all KURIER digital content: Plus content, ePapers, online magazines and much more. Test the KURIER digital signature now.