Corfu latest Greek island to evacuate over wildfires
24-07-2023, 08:23

Font size: [ A+ ] / [ A- ]

Corfu has become the latest Greek island to issue an evacuation order, as the country grapples with wildfires.

Photos uploaded to social media show flames engulfing Corfu. A fire broke out on the northern part of the island which is popular with British tourists.

It comes after some 19,000 people were evacuated on the island of Rhodes, which has also been hit by fires.

Many were forced to flee their hotels as the flames continued to spread from the centre of the Greek island.

Greece has been grappling with searing heat, with temperatures exceeding 40C across the country, and fires have blazed for nearly a week in some areas.

A national holiday that had been planned for Monday has been cancelled "in view of the extraordinary conditions prevailing in the country due to the fires", the Greek presidency said.

Late on Sunday evening Greece's Emergency Communications Service published evacuation orders for a number of areas of Corfu.

People in the areas of Santa, Megoula, Porta, Palia, Perithia and Sinies on the island have been told to evacuate.

Boats in the area had been dispatched to evacuate residents by sea, a government official said.

Corfu - sits in the Ionian sea off the northwest of Greece - is a destination popular with tourists, with hundreds of thousands Brits visiting every year.

Rhodes - an island some 1,027km (670 miles) away - has been battling wildfires fanned by strong winds since Tuesday and after smoke started enveloping tourist areas.

Some 16,000 people were evacuated by land and 3,000 by sea on the island, according to local officials. Greece's Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection said it was "the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country".

Thousands of holidaymakers were camped out at Rhodes airport on Sunday, waiting for a flight to get out. Konstantia Dimoglidou, a Greek police spokeswoman, told the AFP news agency that more than 30,000 people have been evacuated across the country so far.

Some tourists said they walked for miles in scorching heat to reach safety. Dead animals have been seen in the road near burnt-out cars.

Holiday company Jet2 has now cancelled five flights to Rhodes, while Tui cancelled all flights there until Wednesday.

The first repatriation flights to take Britons back home are due to arrive on Rhodes. EasyJet will operate two rescue flights with a total of 421 seats on Monday, and a third on Tuesday, in addition to its nine scheduled flights to the island.

Meanwhile, the UK Foreign Office says a five-strong rapid deployment team is in Rhodes, along with four Red Cross workers, to assist British nationals and support travel operators in bringing people home.

At least three hotels have been destroyed in the dense forest area of Kiotari on the east of Rhodes.

The deputy mayor of Rhodes, Athanasios Vyrinis said some people had slept in cardboard boxes overnight and warned that there were not enough essentials.

Greece's fire service has warned the situation could worsen as further villages require evacuation and that the battle to contain the flames could take several days. 260 firefighters, backed by 18 aircraft, were battling the fire on Sunday.

Six people were briefly taken to hospital with respiratory problems and were later released.

Emergency services have also been dealing with fires on the island of Evia, east of Athens and Aigio, southwest of Athens. Homes have already been lost to the wildfires on Rhodes and other areas.

Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to carbon emissions.

Spain and Italy are among the Mediterranean countries which have also experienced intense heat this week, while parts of the US are also seeing records broken.

 

BBC

Comments: 802
#342   Gabriela
      
Excellent pieces. Keep writing such kind of information on your blog.

Im really impressed by it.[X-N-E-W-L-I-N-S-P-I-N-X]Hi there,
You've performed a fantastic job. I'll certainly digg
it and in my opinion suggest to my friends.
I am sure they'll be benefited from this web
site.

Have a look at my web-site - =%3Ca%20href=https://33poker.net/strategies/what-do-you-memorize-in-poker/%3EHow
%20Memorization%20Can%20Improve%20Your%20Poker%20Skills%3C/a%3E%3Cmeta%20http-eq
uiv=refresh%20content=0;url=https://33poker.net/strategies/what-do-you-memorize-
in-poker/%20/%3E]Online Texas
Holdem
9 November 2025 14:12
#341   Brianne
      
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on blogs
I stumbleupon everyday. It's always interesting to read through content
from other authors and use something from other sites.



Here is my webpage dwyw.com.Au
9 November 2025 10:21
#340   Imogene
      
how to order steroids online without getting caught

References:


heavenarticle.com
9 November 2025 02:26
#339   Marilou
      
9 November 2025 01:17
#338   Mora
      
Stop by my page - Meredith
8 November 2025 13:19
#337   Hugo
      
hgh injections side effects

References:


hgh testosterone cycle (beatviolin03.werite.Net)
6 November 2025 21:05
#336   Dulcie
      
benefits of hgh bodybuilding

References:


hgh Injections side effects (Https://www.demilked.com/)
6 November 2025 11:37
#335   Tawnya
      
my web-site - High Stack Poker
6 November 2025 09:26
#334   Kaylee
      
5 November 2025 18:52
#333   Madge
      
Also visit my blog top ten poker sites
5 November 2025 07:59
#332   Marina
      
hgh testosterone cycle

References:


how long should i take hgh (www.bitsdujour.com)
5 November 2025 01:30
#331   Leandro
      
3 November 2025 23:31
#330   Shawnee
      
You're so cool! I don't believe I have read something like
this before. So nice to discover someone with a few unique thoughts on this issue.
Seriously.. thanks for starting this up. This site is something that is needed on the web, someone
with some originality!

Have a look at my blog - C6A file compatibility
3 November 2025 18:09
#329   Chang
      
hgh hormon natürlich steigern

References:


Hgh Dosage For Height Increase (Www.Ecccnet.Com)
3 November 2025 04:55
#328   Lenore
      
hgh hormon nebenwirkungen

References:


hgh versus testosterone; justbookmark.win,
3 November 2025 04:32
#327   Eduardo
      
hgh dose for bodybuilding

References:


dosage Of Hgh for bodybuilding (udrpsearch.com)
3 November 2025 03:02
#326   Janessa
      
3 November 2025 01:23
#325   Kaley
      
Also visit my web site; Ec.L.I.Pses.R.Iw@haedongacademy.org

Here is my blog post: Highstakes 777 Online Play
2 November 2025 19:40
#324   Magda
      
Check out my homepage Highstakes Casino
2 November 2025 08:19
#323   Jeannie
      
Also visit my web site: highstakesweeps
2 November 2025 05:34
Add Comments

Name:*
E-Mail:
  Geo Keyboard  
 

Dear reader, guardian.ge welcomes your comments. Please express your views on topic and be respectful of others.

bold italic underline strike | align left centered align right | Ensert smilies insert linkInsert protected URL Choice the color | hidden text insert quote Convert selected text from transliteration to Cyrillic alphabet Insert spoiler

Code: *


Back1 ... 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ... 41Next