ALBAWABA - On Monday, at least two people were killed in Greece by wildfires driven by gale-force winds in the northeastern town of Evros, as authorities warned that most regions faced a high chance of new fires spreading across the country.
Fires have been raging for several days, and 13 towns around the city of Alexandroupoli, close to the north-eastern border with Turkey, have been evacuated "for the safety of the citizens," according to a statement by Greece's fire department. Fires are also raging in the eastern Rhodopes and the northern city of Kavala.
An evacuation was ordered late Monday at Alexandroupolis Hospital, a northeastern Greek port city in an area where fires are raging for the fourth day. The coastguard said that they had transferred 65 patients to a waiting boat in the city harbor.
"The firefighting system is on alert, and we must be, too. The risk of wildfires remains high," government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. France, Cyprus, and Romania have sent reinforcements to help Greek firefighters.
Late Monday an evacuation was ordered at the hospital of Alexandroupolis, a northeastern Greek port city in an area where fires are raging for a fourth day. The coastguards said they had moved 65 patients to a waiting ferry at the city harbor.
Every summer, Greece suffers from destructive wildfires, but experts say they have been exacerbated by climate change, with many other nations in the region also suffering from increased fires caused by rising temperatures. A recent heat wave has also contributed to the difficulty, as it left the pine forest bone dry.
"Greece already had by far its worst July since 2008 in terms of wildfires," the EU's Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said on Monday. "The burnt area is bigger and the fires are more intense and more violent, burning more area than before" Lenarčič added.
