Mitsotakis Wildfire Statement: We Are At War

Greek Prime Minister Kiryakos Mitsotakis, regarding the forest fires on the island of Rhodes, said: “We are at war. We will rebuild what we lost, we will cover the losses. Our main concern must be the preservation of human life.” saying.

Mitsotakis, in his speech in Parliament, pointed out that fires were more easily broken out by prolonged heat and strong winds, and said that no fire-fighting measure was enough. Mitsotakis stated that the island of Rhodes was severely damaged by the fires that started a week ago and have not yet been extinguished.

Mitsotakis claimed that thousands of people were moved to safe places in Rhodes. Miçotakis thanked the teams and volunteers who participated in the firefighting and evacuation operations and said: “We are at war. We will rebuild what we lost, we will cover the losses. Our main concern must be the protection of human life. No measure is enough against the wrath of nature. Over the next few weeks, we all need to be on constant alert.” he used his statements.

LARGEST evacuation OPERATION

As the wildfire, which started a week ago on the island of Rhodes, continued to spread unchecked, 19,000 people were reportedly evacuated from the region on July 22. In the statement made by the Greek Ministry of Climate, it was stated that “this evacuation operation is the largest evacuation operation carried out in the country so far.”

The fires, which were initially confined to the mountainous interior of the island, spread to the coastal areas where luxury hotels are located, due to the effect of strong winds, high temperatures and dry air.

‘THE RESULT OF THE FIRE IS AVAILABLE’

For his part, the mayor of North Corfu, Yorgos Mahimaris, said that after investigations it was determined that the fires were caused by arson. North Corfu Deputy Mayor Theofanis Skembris also noted that most of the fires that started on the island of Corfu were under control and “everything will get better soon.”
Firefighters also announced that around 2,500 people were evacuated from Corfu overnight.

The authorities shared the information that 82 forest fires broke out in Greece yesterday.

To combat the ongoing forest fires in Greece, two amphibious firefighting aircraft and one firefighting helicopter belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry arrived in Athens on July 22, with a crew of nine, following the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AA)