ATHENS: More than 2,000 people were ferried to safety from beaches on the Greek island of Rhodes on Saturday, where a wildfire has been raging out of control for five days.

Three coastguard boats were leading more than 30 private vessels in the emergency evacuation, while a Greek navy boat was heading to the area.

According to the Greek coastguard, people were being picked up from Kiotari and Lardos beaches on the east of the Mediterranean island popular with tourists.

The coastguard said over 1,500 people have already been evacuated to a safe beach.

Greece faces longest heatwave in 50 years

From the moment the evacuation alert sounded early in the afternoon, tourists pulling their suitcases bean heading for the beach, some pushing strollers carrying small children. Some of those seeking rescue had been unable to contact their airlines and missed their flights.

According to local authorities, a total of 30,000 people were taken away from the evacuated areas by all means. ERT TV reported that some firefighters were stranded in the Ypseni Monastery near Lardos after attempting to convince the nuns living there to leave the area. The firefighters, along with their commander, were said to be safe.

Deputy Fire Chief Yannis Artapoios said the blaze on Rhodes, which broke out on a mountain in the centre of the island, was the most difficult the Fire Department forces there have faced. Five helicopters and 173 firefighters were operating in the area.

Three hotels in the Kiotari area have been damaged by the fire, and thirty buses were used to evacuate tourists from two hotels as a precaution. The battle to extinguish the fire in Rhodes continues in the area of Laermon and Lardos, where it is raging out of control.

Heatwave

Greece was facing its hottest July weekend in 50 years, with temperatures forecast to soar above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Already 11 days into its heatwave, Greece’s national weather institute warned reprieve was still days away, setting this up to be the longest hot spell the country has ever seen.

“According to the data, we will probably go through 16-17 days of a heatwave, which has never happened before in our country,” Kostas Lagouvardos, the director of research at the National Observatory, told ERT television. The previous heatwave record in Greece was set in 1987, when scorching temperatures of over 39C lasted 11 days. Greece, which is battling dozens of forest fires, warned people not to venture out unnecessarily due to the baking heat. The exceptional temperatures also mean key tourist sites such as the Acropolis will be closed during the hottest part of the day.

“This weekend risks being the hottest registered in July in the past 50 years,” said Panagiotis Giannopoulos, meteorologist with state broadcaster ERT.

Sea temperatures are two to three degrees above normal, the state weather service reported Saturday, while a high of 42.6C recorded by the Akrotiri weather station on Friday, which is expected to be topped.

Published in Dawn, July 23th, 2023