Europe is on fire people told to “evacuate now” and the Greek government has issued new alerts in Corfu and Rhodes and flames have now “spread” to Croatia and in Italy firefighters are struggling to contain a blaze in Sicily.
Flames have “spread” across several countries across the Mediterranean which have been raging for days as extreme weather continues to grip Europe.
A major airport in Sicily, Italy closed on Tuesday morning as a wildfire was raging close by and in Dubrovnik, Croatia a fire broke out overnight.
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The airport reopened but is not operating at full capacity and they are monitoring the weather coniditions.
In a tweet the airport said, “The #aeroporto in Palermo has reopened: at the moment only a limited number of departing flights will be allowed. For arrivals, weather conditions are being monitored.”
Perfectly normal weather scenes at Palermo airport in Sicily last night. #ClimateEmergency pic.twitter.com/dwfEk4mRPg
— Brendan May (@bmay) July 25, 2023
In Greece a plane fighting wildfires crashed and state broadcaster ERT said the incident took place over the town of Karystos which is near to the island of Evia.
BREAKING: A firefighting plane has crashed in Greece amid ongoing wildfirespic.twitter.com/JkYbX2Zsmw
— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) July 25, 2023
Greek authorities have ordered people to “evacuate now” in the coastal areas of Imerolia and have been told to head to Kassiopi port.
In Rhodes officials issued fresh evacuation orders to those who are in the mountain village of Vati, in the southeast and have been told to “evacuate now” and head immediately to Lindos.
The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday that “we are at war” and said they are focused on tackling the wildfires.
🇬🇷 Thousands of locals and tourists have fled forest fires on the Greek islands of Rhodes and Corfu.
🌡️ The prime minister warned the heat-battered nation is “at war” with the flames. @MonteReports has the details 👇 pic.twitter.com/ptT9SS2nBu
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) July 25, 2023
Mitsotakis warned, “I will state the obvious – in the fact of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate hotspot, there is no magical defence mechanism. If there was, we would have implemented it.”
Vassilis Kikilias, Greece’s climate minister, said fire crews are “fighting non-stop on dozens of forest fire fronts,” as the country has had 12 days of heat and strong winds.
“The Greek Fire Service has battled more than 500 fires – more than 50 a day,” he added.
