NNA – Residents and tourists have fled wildfires in two more favorite Greek destinations, Corfu and Evia, even as the blazes that have gripped the island of Rhodes for seven days, prompting an evacuation that officials described as the largest in Greecersquo;s history, spread onward into a village.
The new fires led the authorities to clear hundreds more people from hotels and homes in Corfu on Sunday night to safer areas on the island and to order evacuations on Evia on Monday. In Rhodes mdash; where the British media has compared the relocation operation to the evacuation of troops from the French port of Dunkirk in World War II mdash; tourists were still sleeping in schools, gymnasiums and hotel lobbies.
The outbreaks complicated the efforts of emergency services already battling blazes on Rhodes, where Greecersquo;s military has been supporting the response. A military transport aircraft brought in hundreds of cots, sleeping bags and other provisions for displaced tourists and locals on Sunday evening. Another delivery was set to follow on Monday.
The village struck by fire on Rhodes on Monday was Asklipieio, in the islandrsquo;s southeast.
On Evia, a fire spread in the south on Monday, prompting the authorities to order the evacuation of a village and another blaze broke out in the middle of the island.
The fight against the fires has drawn international support. The European Union has sent water-bombing aircraft and more than 450 firefighters to aid areas in Greece, the European commissioner for crisis management, Janez Lenarcic,nbsp;wrote on Twitternbsp;on Sunday.
ldquo;Greece, we are by your side,rdquo; he wrote in Greek. Other countries including Egypt, Turkey and Israel have sent aircraft to help.
In Corfu, another popular tourist destination, more than 2,000 people were evacuated from 12 villages on Sunday night, Greecersquo;s fire service spokesman, Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis, said at a news briefing. It was unclear how many of the evacuees were tourists.
Greecersquo;s coast guard took part in the rescue, transferring many of the evacuees on Sunday night to safer parts of Corfu aboard patrol vessels and private boats. Television footage andnbsp;videos posted on social medianbsp;showed the night sky glowing orange as the fire advanced across a mountain ridge.mdash;agencies
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