Greece has recorded two deaths from a new spate of fires, the second in a month, that necessitated 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 high winds and temperatures reaching 41° CC.
“There are nine active fronts,” a fire service spokeswoman told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “It is a situation similar to that of July,” he added, referring to an earlier spate of fires that claimed five lives.
On Monday evening, an evacuation order was issued to the hospital in Alexandroupolis, a port city in northeastern Greece, which was hit by fire four days ago. The Coast Guard claimed to have moved 65 patients.
In central Euboea, an evacuation was ordered on Monday evening in the industrial town of Nea Artaki, where fires damaged poultry and pig farms.
The flames also threatened Dadia National Park, in the north of the country, where a body was found Monday evening.
On the same day, an elderly man was also found dead in Boeotia.
The European Union has announced the deployment of two firefighting aircraft and a firefighting team through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
According to meteorological services, hot and dry conditions, which increase the likelihood of fires, will continue through Friday.
On July 18, a fire caused by strong winds destroyed nearly 17,770 hectares in ten days in the south of Rhodes, a popular tourist island in the southeastern Aegean Sea.
About 20,000 people, mostly tourists, had to be evacuated. At the end of July, the country experienced a heat wave, with temperatures exceeding 40°C in many places, according to the National Observatory of Athens.
Source: DN
