Rhodes Fires Take Toll on 10% of Greek Island’s Hotel Capacity

An image acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on 23 July at 9:00 UTC. The image shows the burn scar of the Rhodes wildfire and active fires. The CopernicusEMS Rapid Mapping Module (EMSR675) has been activated to monitor the affected area. Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery.

The ongoing fires which have ravaged a large part of Rhodes have taken a toll on 10 percent of the island’s hotel capacity, confirmed Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday.

“We are at war and focused on the fire front,” said Mitsotakis during a parliamentary session on Monday, adding that everything lost in the fires will be rebuilt and those affected compensated for their losses.

“We will rebuild what we lost and compensate those affected,” he said, adding that despite the unprecedented conditions, no lives were lost and thousands of people were transported in an organized and timely manner to safe places.

The Greek prime minister said it was vital that Rhodes – “the flagship destination of Greek tourism” – return to normality. He confirmed on Monday that 10 percent of the island’s bed capacity was impacted by fire.

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Photo source: Press Office of Prime Minister

He concluded by referring to the effects of the climate crisis, adding that the government must be able to quickly adapt its plans to the new conditions while taking initiatives on an EU level.

For the past seven days, massive blazes fanned by strong winds and high temperatures have burnt dozens of hotels and accommodation facilities on the island.

Greek authorities are expected to assess the damage in the coming days when the fires subside. “The affected areas represent less than 10 percent of the total tourist capacity of Rhodes,” said the Civil Protection Ministry via twitter on Saturday as fires continue to burn on the island.

The fires came at the peak of the tourist season for one of the most popular Greek islands forcing evacuations and dozens of cancelations by tour operators and travelers. According to South Aegean Region authorities, nearly 75 hotels were evacuated in the south and eastern parts of the island.

South Aegean Regional governor George Hadjimarkos.

South Aegean Regional Governor Giorgos Hadjimarkos described the situation on the island as a “tragedy”, during which “one of the largest emergency evacuation operations in Greece of more than 25,000 people was carried out”.

Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni is currently on Rhodes and expected to comment on the impact of the fires on tourism.