Thousands helped to safety as fire causes havoc on Rhodes and new wildfire emerges in Corfu

Almost 19,000 people have been helped to safety from wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes as part of Greece’s largest emergency evacuation.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has warned against travelling to areas in Greece affected by wildfires – and on Sunday evening there were reports of another fire in Corfu with authorities also ordered the evacuation of five small settlements here.

Tourists are now scrambling to get out of Rhodes, with some still in their swimsuits sheltering in schools and hotel conference spaces, and airlines struggling to organise enough return flights. Special measures are being put in place for those who left their identification documents behind when fleeing to safety but who now want to travel home.

The department said on Sunday it had been contacted by a number of Irish citizens affected by the fires, which have caused road closures and extensive damage to property in Rhodes.

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“Temporary shelters have been established by the authorities in Greece for tourists who have had to evacuate their hotels. Citizens should contact their tour operator or agency for information on arrangements and flights,” the department said.

The Greek Coast Guard led efforts to rescue tourists and locals from beaches in the Kiotari and Lardos areas of the island of Rhodes. About 3,000 people were evacuated by sea and 16,000 by land from the affected areas.

On Sunday night, authorities also ordered the evacuation of the areas of Santa, Megoula, Porta, Palia Perithia and Sinies in Corfu.

Irish citizens are being advised to move rapidly out of any areas affected. “This is an evolving situation, and citizens should comply with evacuation orders and follow the instructions from the emergency services and local authorities,” the Dept of Foreign Affairs said.

The Greek civil protection ministry said the evacuation was the largest in the country’s history caused by a wildfire.

Greece is experiencing a sustained spell of intense hot and dry weather and fires have been breaking out on islands and on the mainland. France and Turkey have sent water-dumping aeroplanes to Rhodes to help with the emergency there. Six people have been taken to hospital with respiratory problems but there have not been any reports of any fatalities as a result of the forest fires on Rhodes.

A spokeswoman for TUI Holidays, which flew tourist from Dublin to the island on Saturday, said the company has cancelled all outbound flights to Rhodes up to and including Tuesday, and are contacting passengers due to travel on Wednesday to offer them “free amends to another holiday”.

Ryanair said it would be continuing to fly passengers to Rhodes as the local airport is operating “as normal and unaffected by the forest fires”. EasyJet and British Airways are also still carrying passengers to the island, with British Airways saying customers with tickets to fly to the island could postpone their flights free of charge if they wished, and that customers already in Rhodes could come fly back early.

Holiday operator Jet2 cancelled flights to Rhodes all next week and Thomas Cook said it was cancelling all holidays to destinations Kiotari and Lardos, two at risk parts of the Greek island, until the end of this month.

Maggie Mc Manus (58) from Kilbride, Co Meath, travelled from Dublin to Rhodes on Saturday with Tui for a family holiday with her husband Ronan and daughters Rachel (21) and Ruby (20).

Ms Mc Manus described seeing “fires raging in the dark” as her family’s plane descended to Greek island.

She said “people were completely traumatised” as they were told they had to be taken to a refuge centre.

“It was just horrendous, particularly for anyone with young children. Not a clue. Afraid of their lives,” she said.

Hot, dry weather looks set to continue through the coming week in Greece, with temperatures set to reach 40 degrees C in Athens on Wednesday. Likewise in Spain, Italy and other parts of southern Europe, the high daytime and night-time temperatures look set to persist.