Athens, 23 July 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Thousands of people on the Greek island of Rhodes spent the night outdoors after large forest fires forced the evacuation of numerous villages and holiday resorts.

About 19,000 residents and tourists from Rhodes have been evacuated to safety since Saturday because of the severe forest fires, the office of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reported on Sunday morning.

His office said it is the largest evacuation operation in Greek history. According to initial police estimates, 16,000 people had been brought to safety by land and 3,000 people were rescued by sea from beaches.

Most of the people are said to have been taken to the north of Rhodes, where some were temporarily housed in gyms, schools, aboard ferries and in private homes.

Twelve villages and all hotels in the affected areas of the islands have been evacuated. The area around the holiday resort of Lindos with its famous 4th Century Acropolis was particularly affected.

Despite the fires, new planes loaded with further tourists continued to land on the island, Thanasis Virinis, the deputy mayor of the island, told the TV channel Mega on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the fires continued to rage with no relief in sight after burning for six days. The fires were considered under control on Thursday, but strong winds on Saturday drove the flames directly towards villages and holiday resorts.

Greek civil defence authorities warned of extremely high risks for forest fires across large parts of Greece on Sunday.

High winds are expected again on Sunday. A spokesman for the fire brigade told state broadcaster ERT that fire crews are battling the fires along three major fronts: around the resort of Kiotari, the village of Apollona and the Gadoura reservoir.

Central Greece, the west and north-east of the Peloponnese peninsula, the greater Athens area and the island of Euboea were all under the highest fire alert level in addition to Rhodes.

For days, much of Greece has been gripped by a strong heatwave with temperatures of over 40 degrees in many areas. The heatwave hit Greece after much of the country had already endured a prolonged stretch of hot, dry weather.

Heatwaves have also struck much of southern Europe, including Italy, in recent weeks. Climate researchers have warned that extreme heatwaves will likely become more common in the future as global warming drives up temperatures and makes weather patterns more volatile.