More than twenty boats took part on Saturday, July 22, in a gigantic evacuation operation on the tourist island of Rhodes, in Greece, where a forest fire broke out five days ago. According to the Greek coastguard, the evacuees were on the beaches of Kiotari and Lardos, on the east coast of this Mediterranean island. According to local authorities, some 30,000 people were able to leave the threatened areas by any means.
Three coastguard boats were carrying out this operation, in which more than twenty private boats participated, while a Greek navy vessel was heading towards the area.
Firefighters had to take refuge in the monastery of Panagia Ipseni, near Lardos, according to the ERT television channel. The firefighters and their commander were stuck there, after trying to convince the nuns who were there to leave.
According to Deputy Fire Chief Yannis Artapoios, the fire, which started in a mountain in the center of the island, is the most difficult that the firefighters of Rhodes have faced. Five helicopters and 173 firefighters are engaged to fight the fire. Three hotels in the Kiotari sector suffered damage.
“Probably” the longest heat wave
Greece is currently experiencing an exceptionally long heat wave, with temperatures expected to rise above 44 degrees this weekend. “According to our data, we are likely to experience a sixteen to seventeen day heat wave, which has never happened before in our country,” Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the National Observatory in Athens, told TV.
In Greece, all archaeological sites, including the famous Acropolis in Athens, will continue to keep their doors closed during the hottest hours until Sunday. “We need absolute vigilance (…) because the difficult times are not over,” warned Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “We are facing a new heat wave” and “a possible strengthening of the winds” which have already been fanning several fires around the capital since Monday, he added.
Temperatures of up to 45 degrees are expected for Saturday in central Greece. According to the National Observatory of Athens, the absolute record in the capital was recorded in June 2007, with 44.8 degrees. Nationally, it was established in July 1977 with 48 degrees in Eleusis, near Athens.
