"All Hotels On Fire": 19,000 Evacuate As Wildfires Rage Near Resorts In Greek Islands Of Rhodes

Tens of thousands of people fled Greek island of Rhodes after massive wildfires. As many as 19,000 people have been forced to flee following the carnage. Police said the authorities had transported 16,000 people across land, and evacuated 3,000 by sea. Others had to flee by road.

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What's happening?

As tourists scrambled to get back home, wildfires were also reported in Corfu- another popular Greek island. Land and sea evacuations were underway as firefighters tackled wildfires on Rhodes. The blazes come during the peak tourism season resulting in the country's largest-ever wildfire evacuation.

"This is the biggest fire evacuation ever in Greece. We had to evacuate an area of 30,000 people," Konstantia Dimoglidou, Greek police spokeswoman told AFP.

Other Greek islands have also been reporting similar problems. A wildfire broke out on Greece's second-largest island, Evia, located in central Greece's eastern coast. Meanwhile, firefighters in Greece were struggling to contain 82 wildfires burning across the country, 64 of which started on Sunday, the hottest day of the summer so far.

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Tourists' ordeal

British tourist Kevin Evans was evacuated twice on Saturday with his wife and three young children ¨C first from Kiotari to Gennadi, then again as the fire approached the island¡¯s capital in the north-east, he told Britain¡¯s PA news agency.

¡°There were lots of people in Gennadi sent from the hotels ¨C many in just swimsuits having been told to leave everything in the hotel,¡± he told PA. ¡°As night fell, we could see the fire on the top of the hills in Kiotari. They said all the hotels were on fire.¡±

Connie Woods, 18, from Newry, Northern Ireland, was sheltering in a school for a second night on Sunday after being evacuated from the Pefki Island hotel. Woods said there were already hundreds staying at the school, with more arriving. "It's getting quite crowded," she said. "So many young children, families with no luggage, newborn babies. It's awful."

REUTERS

What authorities are saying

Central Greece vice-governor Giorgos Kelaiditis, who was near one of the villages, told state agency ANA-MPA that the situation was difficult. ¡°The fire may be 2km (1.2 miles) away, but the wind is strong, the growth is low, the smoke thick and the air is hard to breathe,¡± he said. Northern Evia was devastated by wildfires in August 2021.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection said the emergency on Rhodes had triggered ¡°the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country¡±.

The European Union has sent substantial reinforcements to help Greek authorities battle the fires. ¡°Over 450 firefighters and seven airplanes from the EU have been operating in Greece as fires sprout across the country,¡± the EU commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, Janez Lenarcic, said on Sunday afternoon.

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Rhodes' travel agent's statement

Rhodes travel agent Stelios Kotiadis confirmed to the Associated Press that the evacuation was hasty.

¡°There was panic ¡­ The authorities were overwhelmed,¡± he said. But, he said, the abandoned hotels ¡°are in much better condition than reported in social media ¡­ They will be ready to reopen very soon if civil protection gives the go-ahead.¡±

Kotiadis said he and other travel agents sent buses to the island¡¯s south-east to pick up evacuated tourists. They had to go the long way around, since the road running down Rhodes¡¯ eastern side was blocked in places.

¡°There were 80-90 people cramming into 50-seater buses,¡± he said. He added that 90% of the evacuated tourists are from European countries.

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Planes sent to collect stranded Britons

Meanwhile, planes are being sent to Rhodes to collect British tourists stranded after being evacuated after wildfires.

EasyJet is operating two repatriation flights on Monday, and one on Tuesday, and holiday firm Jet2 is sending planes to bring its customers back. People forced to leave hotels over the weekend have been sleeping at the airport, as well as in sports halls, conference centres and on the street.

One man arriving back in the UK overnight called the situation "scary". Jack Askin, who landed at East Midlands airport on a scheduled Ryanair flight, told the BBC "it was really bad - we got out on Saturday night and it was carnage at the airport". But he added he was glad to be "safe now".

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