In Greece, the island of Rhode has turned into an inferno. More than 30,000 people had to flee, between Saturday and Sunday July 23, the flames which ravaged this very touristic island. On Twitter, videos show tourists leaving their hotels to take refuge on the beach, or being evacuated on boats. It is “the largest evacuation operation ever carried out in Greece” according to the authorities, while the country is crushed under a furnace favoring fires.
While July could turn out to be the hottest on record on Earth, the heat has been overwhelming tens of millions of people around the world since the start of summer. Favored by global warming, fires are raging in many countries around the world, including in Greece where firefighters have identified 46 new fires in 24 hours. On the island of Rhodes, located in the Dodecanese archipelago, which has a total of 100,000 inhabitants and is very popular with British, French or German tourists, the fire zone has been spreading for six consecutive days.
Evacuated hotels, canceled flights and repatriations
Among the evacuees, 19,000 had to leave their accommodation as a precaution, and 3,000 were evacuated by sea. A total of twelve localities were abandoned, including Lindos, famous for its Acropolis perched on a hill. During the night, the flames reached the village of Laerma and spread to the coastal villages of Kiotari and Gennadi Lardos.
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened a crisis unit in Athens to facilitate the repatriation of foreigners. The world number one in tourism, TUI, and the British company JeT2 suspended their tourist flights to Rhodes on Sunday, but will send their aircraft there empty to be able to evacuate the tourists present on the island. Dutch tour operator Corendon announced a similar hiatus.
A 44 degree heat wave on Sunday
Several days are still needed to contain the fire, according to the authorities. Especially since the wind, which stirs it, “should strengthen”, in the afternoon, warned the firefighters. Temperatures exceeding 44°C are expected this Sunday in Greece.
“We are probably going to experience a heat wave of 16 to 17 days, which has never happened before in our country,” said Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the national meteorological observatory, on Saturday. On the surface of the sea, the mercury was 2 to 3 ° C above normal, announced Saturday the meteorological services.