High winds forecast for today are expected to hamper firefighters' battle to contain a blaze burning out of control on the Greek island of Rhodes, sparking the biggest ever fire evacuation in Greece.
HIGH WINDS FORECAST for today are expected to hamper firefighters’ battle to contain a blaze burning out of control on the Greek island of Rhodes, sparking the biggest ever fire evacuation in Greece.
Authorities have warned that the battle to contain the flames — raging in the middle of peak tourism season — will take several days. The fires reached the village of Laerma during the night, engulfing houses and a church, while many hotels were damaged by flames that had reached to the coast. The Athens News Agency said officials were set to visit the emergency facilities set up for tourists and help those who have been evacuated to contact tour operators.
Anyone in need of consular assistance can call the Embassy on +30 2107232771 or the Honorary Consulate of Ireland in Rhodes on +30 2241075655.Tour operators have also ordered additional charter flights to land at Rhodes in order to pick up travellers who wish to leave the island.Travel giant Tui has said it is suspending all its inbound passenger flights to Rhodes.
“We told the hotel about the messages we had received on our phones to evacuate the area, but they didn’t even know about it,” he told public radio station RTBF.A large part of the island was without electricity as the public power utility PPC shut down the local plant in the south for safety reasons.
The effects cannot be attributed solely to the El Nino weather pattern, which “has really only just emerged” and isn’t expected to strengthen until later in the year, he added.
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