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On the Mediterranean island, which is particularly popular with British, German and French holidaymakers, around 30,000 people have left their accommodation, including hotels, 19,000 of them as a preventive measure.
Published on 07/23/2023 19:39
Reading time: 1 min
The village of Kiotari after the fire in Rhodes island, Greece, on July 23, 2023. (DAMIANIDIS ELEFTHERIOS / ANADOLU AGENCY / AFP)
The fire is still raging on Sunday, July 23, for the sixth straight day in the south-east of the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese archipelago, where 30,000 people have been evacuated, “the largest operation” of its kind “ever carried out in Greece”. Hundreds of tourists are waiting for a flight home at Rhodes International Airport, while several airlines, including world-leading tourism group TUI, have suspended flights to the island.
Supported by fifty trucks, ten Canadairs and eight helicopters, more than 250 firefighters continue to fight the blaze, fanned by winds of up to 50 km/h. A total of twelve sites were abandoned, including Lindos, famous for its hilltop Acropolis. During the night, the flames reached the village of Laerma and spread to the coastal villages of Kiotari and Gennadi Lardos.
In Greece, temperatures exceeded 40°C in many places on Sunday. According to the Athens National Observatory, temperatures between 45°C and 46.4°C were measured in the center of the country and on the Peloponnese peninsula in the afternoon. After a very relative breathing space on Monday with peak temperatures of 38 °C, a new heat wave is expected from Tuesday, which, according to meteorologists, should last at least until Friday. July could prove to be the hottest month ever on Earth, according to experts pointing out the effects of global warming.
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