Sharjah 24 – AFP: Greece on Sunday battled three wildfires across the country which forced hundreds to evacuate, as soaring temperatures raised fears of more blazes.
The country is in the grip of a heatwave that began on Saturday and is expected to last 10 days. Temperatures were set to rise to 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions.
Experts blame climate change for the soaring temperatures and warned that the worst is yet to come.
Fires raged in the north, east and south of Greece, including on the island of Lesbos.
Officials ordered the evacuation of around 200 people on Sunday afternoon from Vryssa village on Lesbos as flames crept closer, some 500 metres (1,600 feet) from houses, the deputy mayor of western Lesbos told Skai radio.
Elderly women carried plastic bags with only a few personal belongings as they boarded the first buses to leave the village.
Thick clouds of smoke were already engulfing the first houses of Vryssa.
The blaze broke out a day earlier, causing the evacuation of hundreds of tourists and residents from the beachside village of Vatera.
At least four houses were destroyed in Vatera, state TV ERT reported, and fires damaged an unknown number of shops, hotels and beach bars in the village.
Dozens of firefighters early on Sunday clamoured to control the blaze, with four water-dropping planes and two helicopters in operation.
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