2,500 tourists evacuated from Corfu as forest fires break out on other Greek islands

While forest fires on Rhodes are still raging on, other fires have broken out on the Greek islands of Corfu and Evia. Almost 2,500 tourists were evacuated from the islands on Sunday night, a fire brigade spokesperson reported. As of yet, no houses or hotels have been destroyed.

A fire broke out on the northern part of Corfu, a popular holiday destination, on Sunday night. According to French news agency AFP, the first evacuations of holidaymakers in Corfu began on Sunday evening. Tourists and residents of 12 towns on Corfu are being urged to evacuate, according to Greek news agency ANA. In the small coastal town of Nisaki in north-east Corfu, the coast guard is evacuating people from the beach.

On Evia, an island in the Aegean Sea off the east coast of Attica, five villages were evacuated Sunday by a forest fire fuelled by strong winds, according to local emergency services.

Large forest fires have been raging on Rhodes for almost a week. More than 19,000 tourists have already been taken to safety.

The Belgian Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs has updated its travel advice for Greece. Travellers are advised travellers to "carefully follow the instructions of the local authorities" and take into account possible new fires due to the ongoing heat.

^{© SPYROS BAKALIS / AFP}