Fires on the island of Rhodes spark Greece's largest-ever population evacuation

The strong winds expected on Sunday in Greece threaten to hinder the efforts of firefighters to contain a large fire on the tourist island of Rhodes, which has led to the largest evacuation operation ever in the country, involving around 30,000 people.

The large fire has been raging on the island for six consecutive days, forcing approximately 30,000 people to leave their homes and hotels in the eastern part of the island located in the Dodecanese archipelago during the peak of the tourist season.

Authorities estimate that it will take several days to control the fires.

The spokesperson for the firefighting teams, Vassilis Vathrakoyianis, warned that the winds, which are fueling the fire, will intensify between noon and 17:00 (14:00 GMT).

Last year, Rhodes, with a population of over 100,000, received about 2.5 million tourists.

During the night, the fires reached the village of Lardos, where houses and a church were surrounded, and many hotels were damaged by the fire, which sometimes reached the beaches.

According to the Greek news agency, the police evacuated about 19,000 people as a precaution, include 16,000 by land and 3,000 by sea.

Twelve towns, including Lindos, one of the main tourist attractions on the island, were evacuated.

On Sunday, the fires were active in three locations, including the southeast coast of the island, where firefighters attempted to prevent the fire from reaching a reservoir. They received air assistance through helicopters and agricultural planes.

The current efforts are focused on preventing the fire from spreading northward to the dense forests.

Temperatures are expected to exceed 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday, and the National Meteorological Observatory stated that the country is likely to face its longest heatwave in history.

Panayotis Demilis, a member of the municipal council of the village of Archangelos, described the situation to Sky TV as "unprecedented," adding that many local residents rushed to help the tourists.

The tourists and some residents were taken to sports halls, schools, and conference centers in hotels on the island, where they will spend the night, while firefighters continue their battle against the fire.

Athens News Agency reported that three ferries docked at the port of Rhodes to accommodate some of those who were evacuated.

The travel giant, TUI, suspended all flights to the Greek island.

A spokesperson for the German company told AFP that the company "currently has about 40,000 tourists on the island of Rhodes, 7,800 of whom have been affected by the fires and have been transferred to reception centers or hotels."

They confirmed that "until Tuesday, no new tourists will be transferred" to the island, adding that there are empty planes heading there to help evacuate thousands of tourists.

The Greek Foreign Ministry has established a crisis cell in Athens to facilitate the repatriation of foreign tourists.

Greek foreign missions are also setting up a station at Rhodes Airport to assist tourists who have lost their travel documents during the evacuation operations.

Tour operators and travel agencies have also requested more charter planes to land in Rhodes to transport travelers who wish to leave.

A Belgian tourist named Cedric Gisay told state radio ERT that he had to leave his hotel on foot without being given a destination after receiving text messages on his mobile phone.

He recounted that in the hotel, "they were not even aware (of the evacuation order). We only carried our identity cards and some water and what we could use to cover our faces and heads."

From the moment the evacuation warning was issued early in the afternoon, tourists headed to the beach, dragging their belongings.

Video footage showed some of them pushing baby strollers under the scorching sun.

More than 200 firefighters worked during the night to extinguish the fires, while a large part of the island lost power due to the state-owned power company shutting down the electricity plant in the south for reasons related to public safety.

The Greek presidency canceled the national holiday on Monday "due to the exceptional conditions in the country due to the fire."



AFP