Greece has recorded two deaths due to a new wave of fires, the second in a month, which forced a series of evacuations.
The flames are spreading in the northeast of the country, on the islands of Evia, near Athens, and Kythnos, and in the central region of Boeotia, north of the capital, with a dangerous mix of strong winds and temperatures that can reach the 41°. c.
“There are nine active fronts,” a firefighter spokeswoman told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “It’s a similar situation to July,” she added, referring to a previous wave of fires that claimed five lives.
On Monday night, an evacuation order was issued from the hospital in Alexandroupoli, a port city in northeastern Greece, affected by fires four days ago. The coast guard claimed to have transferred 65 patients.
In central Euboea, an evacuation was ordered Monday night from the industrial town of Nea Artaki, where fire damaged poultry and pig farms.
The flames also threatened the Dadia National Park in the north of the country, where a body was found on Monday night.
An old man was also found dead that same day in Boeotia.
The European Union announced the deployment of two firefighting aircraft and one firefighting team through the EU civil protection mechanism.
According to weather services, hot and dry conditions, which increase the risk of fires, will continue through Friday.
On July 18, a fire caused by strong winds devastated almost 17,770 hectares in ten days in southern Rhodes, a popular tourist island in the southeast Aegean Sea.
Some 20,000 people, mostly tourists, had to be evacuated. At the end of July, the country suffered a heat wave, with temperatures exceeding 40°C in many places, according to the National Observatory of Athens.
Source: TSF
