Panicked tourists in Turkey rushed to the coast on Saturday to wait for lifeboats after they were told to evacuate some hotels in the Aegean seaside resort of Bodrum because of the dangers of nearby forest fires, Turkish media reported.
Coast Guard units led the operation, and authorities asked private boats and yachts to help evacuate the sea when new forest fires broke out. A video showed clouds of smoke and fire enveloping a hill near the coast.
The death toll from forest fires in Turkey’s Mediterranean cities rose to six on Saturday after two forest workers were killed, the country’s health minister said. Fires across Turkey since Wednesday have burned down forests and some settlements, reached villages and tourist destinations and forced people to evacuate.
More than 100 Russian tourists have been evacuated from Bodrum and relocated to new hotels, said the Russian news agency Sputnik.
In a video of the Bodrum fire filmed from the sea, a man helping with the evacuations was stunned by the speed of the fire and said, “This is amazing, just amazing. How did this fire (here) come so quickly in 5 minutes? “He wasn’t named in the video.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said Saturday that 91 of the 101 fires that broke out in high winds and scorching heat were brought under control. Neighborhoods affected by the fire in five provinces have been declared disaster areas.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited some affected areas on Saturday and viewed the damage from a helicopter.
From the city of Manavgat, Erdogan said that the Turkish government would take over the rents for the people affected by the fire and rebuild their houses. He said taxes, social security and loan payments would be postponed for those affected and small businesses would be offered loans with no interest.
“We can do nothing but wish the mercy of God for the lives we have lost, but we can replace whatever has been burned,” he said.
Erdogan said the number of planes fighting the fires had increased from six to 13, including planes from Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, and that thousands of Turkish workers as well as dozens of helicopters and drones were helping the fire-fighting efforts.
In a speech from Marmaris on Saturday night, Erdogan said one of the fires there was set by children and that other investigations were ongoing.
At least five people died in the fires in Manavgat and one in Marmaris. Both cities are Mediterranean tourist destinations. Tourism is a major source of income for Turkey, and business owners hoped this summer would be a lot better than last year when travel restrictions caused tourism to collapse due to a pandemic.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 400 people affected by the Manavgat fires were treated and released in hospitals, while 10 more were hospitalized for burn injuries. In Marmaris, 159 people were hospitalized and one person was still receiving treatment for burns.
In the southern Hatay province, flames burst into populated areas but were later apparently brought under control.
Forest fires often occur in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions of Turkey during the dry summer months.
Meanwhile, a heat wave in southern Europe, fed by hot air from Africa, has led to forest fires in the Mediterranean basin, including Italy and Greece.
Firemen on the Italian island of Sicily battled dozens of flames fueled by high temperatures on Saturday, prompting the region’s governor to seek help from Rome. About 150 people trapped in two coastal areas in the city of Catania were evacuated by sea late Friday, where they were picked up by rubber dinghies and placed on coast guard boats.
In western Greece, wildfire that broke out on Saturday forced the evacuation of four villages and people on a beach by fire departments, coast guards and private boats.
The fire broke out in a mountain forest 30 kilometers east of Patras, the third largest city in Greece, said Minister of Public Affairs Michalis Chrysochoidis on Saturday. Supported by strong winds, the fire raced down the slopes and threatened coastal villages.
The civil protection agency sent the residents of four villages – two in the mountains and two by the sea – SMS for evacuation. Local media reported that some villagers refused to leave and tried to use garden hoses to fight the fire.
Temperatures in Greece and nearby countries in Southeastern Europe are expected to rise to 42 degrees Celsius (more than 107 Fahrenheit) in many cities and towns on Monday.
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Robert Badendieck in Istanbul, Colleen Barry in Milan and Demetris Nellas in Athens have contributed to this.
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Follow all AP stories on climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/Climate.
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