25 July 2023 , 04:51
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Chilling satellite images show the horrifying devastation wreaked by wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes.
Greece is using an EU satellite service to estimate the damage caused by the fire and to target resources.
Photographs published online by the service showed a brown hourglass-shaped burn scar across the middle of the island.
A week-old wildfire on the Greek resort island of Rhodes tore past defences Monday, forcing more evacuations as strong winds and successive heat waves that left scrubland and forests tinder-dry fueled three major fires raging elsewhere in Greece.
The latest evacuations were ordered in south Rhodes after 19,000 people, mostly tourists, were moved in buses and boats over the weekend out of the path of the fire that reached several coastal areas from nearby mountains. It was the country's biggest evacuation effort in recent years.
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Thursday (left) and Sunday (right) photographs show the wildfires getting worse (AP)"We are at war - completely focused on the fires," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during a debate in parliament. "Over the coming days and weeks, we must remain on constant alert."
Help continued to arrive from the European Union and elsewhere, with firefighting planes from neighbouring Turkey joining the effort on Rhodes, where 10 water-dropping planes and 10 helicopters buzzed over flames up to 5 meters (16 feet) tall despite low visibility.
Photographs published online showed a brown hourglass-shaped burn scar in the middle of the island (Sentinel Hub)Temperatures reached the low 40s Celsius (above 104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of the Greek mainland Monday, a day after soaring as high as 45 degrees (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
Evacuations were also ordered overnight on the western island of Corfu, where more than 2,000 people were moved to safety by land and sea, as well as on the island of Evia and in a mountainous area in the southern Peloponnese region.
Fire is ripping across the landscape at speed (MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)In Greece, an average of 50 new wildfires have broken out daily for the past 12 days, according to government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis. On Sunday, 64 new blazes were recorded.
The Rhodes fire roared down mountain slopes, burning homes and cars and leaving livestock dead on the roadside as they tried to escape.
Authorities said no serious injuries were reported, but hospitals and health volunteers provided first aid to tourists and others, mostly for the effects of heat and dehydration.
Due to the fires in Greece, several airlines, including easyJet and package operator Tui, sent planes to Rhodes to evacuate tourists forced out of hotels.
The UK government said between 7,000 and 10,000 British nationals are on the island, a popular package holiday destination.
Some tourists said travel companies had failed to provide information or help. Officials from the Greek Foreign Ministry were working at the international airport with several embassies and diplomats who traveled from the UK to assist tourists who had lost their travel documents.
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Rhodes is one of Greece's most popular holiday destinations, visited by about 2.5 million tourists each year.
As some visitors continued to flee the island Monday, others were arriving from multiple European destinations to start their holidays at resorts not affected by the wildfire - some 90% of the total according to Greek authorities.