WARNINGS have been sent out across the popular tourist hotspot of Rhodes after it was hit with a 5.0-magnitude earthquake and a soaring heatwave.
Temperatures across the Greek islands have brought major cities to a standstill with the weather set to hit 44C on Thursday – prompting a red alert and leaving residents rocked.
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The combination of the heat and the tremors has led to two people tragically being reported as missing in Rhodes, say reports.
Brit tourists holidaying in Rhodes described feeling the “earth shake beneath their chairs” as they saw search helicopters looking for the missing tourists.
The heatwave has already caused schools and tourists attractions to shut down such as the Acropolis as Red Cross medics have been deployed to control the hot situation by handing out water bottles.
Temperatures currently sit at 34C in Rhodes with experts saying this number is expected to rise throughout the day.
A heat warning is in place until Thursday at 8pm, with tourists being urged to stay vigilant and find shelter where possible.
As a roaring fire has already turned a cooking equipment factory into a pile of ashes in Kefosia near Athens.
Forty five firefighters, 15 firetrucks and one helicopter were all seen battling against the flames as it engulfed the building.
My aircon has been broken during the heatwave and I’ve not slept in over a week. My dog almost died in the heat, I was rounding every corner in the house hoping he’s still breathing
British expat
Rhodes was also struck down by a set of terrifying tremors across Wednesday night.
The 5.0-magnitude earthquake was felt as far away as Turkey.
A female British expat who has lived on the island with her Greek husband for years, said she “almost fell off her chair” as the earthquake rumbled.
She said: “My aircon has been broken during the heatwave and I’ve not slept in over a week.
“My dog almost died in the heat, I was rounding every corner in the house hoping he’s still breathing.
“We do get quite a few tremors here, especially during a heatwave. I actually told a friend the day before that I had an earthquake feeling.
“Luckily there is no damage as thankfully most places here are built to withstand them – and we’ve had far worse. I’ve had cupboard doors opening and things falling out in earthquakes here before.”
The Institute of Seismology at the University of Athens said the earthquake peaked at 5.00 on the Richter Scale.
With the tremor’s epicentre registering up to 55.1. KM south of the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea at around 8:20pm.
It was described as a “relatively shallow” quake by seismologists reaching a depth of 43km.
However, European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said the magnitude might continue to rise in the coming hours.
An EMSC spokesperson said: “Our monitoring service identified a second report from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.9 as well.
“Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.”
But, Greece’s leading earthquake expert, Professor Ethymios Lekkas, has calmed fears that Rhodes could be on the brink of another much bigger tremor.
He said: “The depth of the earthquake and the aftershocks that have followed are not cause for worry.”
TROUBLING TIMES
With the search continuing for the American, 59 and Dutch, 74, tourists it brings the total missing or dead holiday-goers to a tragic five in 2024.
Famed TV doctor Michael Mosely was found a week ago on the island of Symi, an hour ferry ride away from Rhodes.
Initial reports say he died of heatstroke after going on a walk by himself.
Greece is prone to large cases of seismic activity along the holiday islands.
Scientists put this down to the “Greek fault” – an earthquake zone that goes from the island of Lefkada and all the way to Rhodes.
Parts of Greece have been rocked by a number of crisis’s in recent years.
Last winter was the hottest on record for the country with rainfall staying low across the year.
This created a worrying influx of fires, say scientists.
Firefighters and cops have already been told to stay on high alert for any potential forest fires in the coming days due to the heat.
As the grand Acropolis hill – home to one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites and the Parthenon temple – was closed for five hours on Wednesday because of the rising heat.
Windy conditions are expected to come in on Friday to bring an end to the heatwave.
As in March, southern Greece was rocked by a 5.7-magnitude earthquake that shocked residents.
Intense shaking was felt hundreds of miles away in holiday hotspots across Greece after the quake struck off the coast of western Peloponnese.
Many residents noted the “long duration” of the tremors with some describing it as a “big one”.
One person said: “That was a big one! The centre of the quake wasn’t close to my home but I felt the shaking for 30 seconds at least!”
In January, the coast of Pelponnese was again hit by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake.
Earlier this year, scientists predicted a devastating earthquake of 8.5 magnitude could soon strike Greece similar to the one that wrecked havoc across Turkey in recent years.
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