Nearly 2500 more evacuated as Greece battles wildfires
Jul 25, 2023
Athens [Greece], July 25 : Nearly 2,500 more people were evacuated by the Greek authorities from the island of Corfu on Monday as crews fought several wildfires in the heat-battered country, Al Jazeera reported.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people have already fled from the Greek island of Rhodes after a massive wildfire.
Since last week's Tuesday, a wildfire has been blazing in the centre and southern regions of Rhodes, a very well-liked island among tourists, reported CNN.
It is the biggest of several fires that have broken out in Greece, which is burning as a result of a heat wave that experts predict will end up being the nation's longest on record, according to CNN.
The rescue operation, which the government referred to as "the largest such effort Greece has ever seen," involved the transportation of 16,000 people—tourists and locals—by land and 3,000 by sea.
The middle and southern regions of the Rhodes island are where firefighters are presently concentrating their efforts on three active fronts, CNN quoted the local fire department as saying.
Nearby Kiotari and Lardos, not far from the Lindos archaeological site, is where the fire is currently raging. So far, there hasn't been a threat to the site.
Notably, Lindos is an archaeological site, a fishing village and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece.
Some 30,000 people fled Rhodes at the weekend, the country’s largest-ever wildfire evacuation.
According to Al Jazeera, Rhodes, which counted 2.5 million visitor arrivals in 2022, is one of Greece’s leading holiday destinations.
Greece is plagued by forest fires, often deadly, ravaging tens of thousands of hectares of forest and vegetation.
This summer, the country experienced one of the longest heatwaves in recent years, according to experts, with the thermometer hitting 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) on the weekend, as per Al Jazeera.
