Firefighters in Greece battled wildfires near Athens and on the island of Crete on Thursday, forcing the evacuation of thousands from tourist resorts, while blazes in neighboring Turkey claimed at least two lives.
Authorities said more than 5,000 people—including tourists, hotel staff and local residents—were evacuated from the southern coast of Crete, near the town of Ierapetra. Some fled into the sea and were rescued by local fishermen and divers, officials added.
“Thankfully, no one was injured, but it’s a difficult situation,” Ierapetra Mayor Manolis Frangoulis told reporters, noting that firefighters were using a brief lull in strong winds to contain flare-ups.
Displaced tourists were temporarily relocated to other hotels or sheltered overnight in a local indoor basketball stadium. Several homes and businesses were reported damaged, and volunteers discovered dozens of farm animals killed by the flames, some burned alive while chained inside sheds.
In a separate blaze near the port town of Rafina, about 30 kilometers east of Athens, wildfires disrupted ferry services to the islands. Police conducted door-to-door evacuations, assisting elderly residents out of their homes.
Across the Aegean in western Turkey, two people died in a wildfire near the town of Odemis. A local forestry worker was killed while battling the flames, and an 81-year-old man died from smoke inhalation, authorities said. These are the first confirmed fatalities in a wave of wildfires that have triggered mass evacuations across the country.
Hundreds of firefighters, supported by aircraft and helicopters, were deployed to control a large wildfire near the Aegean resort town of Cesme, roughly 190 kilometers west of Odemis. The blaze, which began on Wednesday, prompted the evacuation of three neighborhoods and led to multiple road closures. Television footage showed flames rapidly advancing through dry brush on both sides of a highway.
Turkey has faced hundreds of wildfires in recent days, driven by scorching temperatures, strong winds and low humidity. While most of the fires have now been contained, authorities said around 200 homes have been damaged or destroyed.
Wildfires are a regular threat during the summer in both Greece and Turkey, but scientists warn that climate change is worsening conditions across the Mediterranean, making extreme heatwaves, droughts and fires more frequent and intense.
Late Wednesday, Turkey’s parliament passed a landmark climate bill targeting net-zero carbon emissions by 2053. The legislation includes provisions to establish a carbon market board aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
“As a Mediterranean country, Turkey is highly vulnerable to climate change,” said Gizem Koc, a lawyer with the UK-based environmental group ClientEarth. “Drought and water stress are the most striking impacts, but we’re also seeing more frequent floods and other extreme weather events.”