Some 30,000 people have left their accommodation, including hotels, including 19,000 as a preventive measure, on this Mediterranean island very popular with British, German and French holidaymakers in particular.
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The fire is still raging, Sunday July 23, for the sixth consecutive day, in the south-east of the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese archipelago, from where 30,000 people have been evacuated, “the greatest operation” like “never done in Greece”. Hundreds of tourists are waiting at Rhodes International Airport, looking for a flight home, while several airlines, such as the world’s number one tourism company TUI, have suspended flights to the island.
Supported by fifty trucks, ten Canadair and eight helicopters, more than 250 firefighters continue to fight against the flames, fanned by winds blowing up to 50 km / h. In total, twelve localities were abandoned, including Lindos, famous for its Acropolis perched on a hill. During the night, the flames reached the village of Laerma and spread to the coastal villages of Kiotari and Gennadi Lardos.
Greece experienced temperatures over 40°C in many places on Sunday. In the center of the country and on the Peloponnese peninsula, temperatures between 45°C and 46.4°C were recorded in the afternoon, according to the National Observatory of Athens. After a very relative respite on Monday, with peaks at 38°C, a new heat wave is expected from Tuesday and should last until at least Friday, according to meteorologists. July could turn out to be the hottest month on record on Earth, according to experts who point to the impact of global warming.