NEW EVACUATION ALERTS FOR GREEKS

Thousands of people have already been evacuated and now fresh evacuation alerts have been ordered for Nea Makri. The seaside town is the latest town to feel the effects of the wildfires that have been plaguing the suburbs of Athens.

Firefighters had to organise emergency evacuations after the wildfires spread due to strong winds. This led to schools, businesses and homes being under threat.

Other towns that have been affected are Marathon, Varnavas and Penteli. All of these towns are located north or northeast of the capital.

So far, only one person has died because of the fires. A body, believed to be female, was found inside a shop that has burnt down.

Fire service spokesman Col Vassilios Vathrakogiannis said in a statement that there was no longer a single active fire front in the north-eastern Attica regions, but there were still many active localised blazes.

BBC reports that more than 700 firefighters, 199 fire engines and 35 waterbombing aircraft have been involved in efforts to extinguish the fires, which first broke out on Sunday afternoon around 35km north of the Greek capital.

Every summer, the country experiences devastating fires with strong winds and dry conditions fuelling them.

Image credit: The New York Times