 in recent weeks, with fires burning for nearly a week in some areas. At least 19,000 people have been evacuated so far from Rhodes. Elsewhere, around 2,500 people were evacuated from Corfu, some 1,027km (670 miles) miles away, a fire department spokesman told AFP news agency. There have been reports some fires may have been started by arsonists, but the extreme temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds across Greece have aided their spread. In Rhodes, flare-ups overnight have caused the flames to spread to new areas, while in Crete authorities have told residents of an extreme risk of fire. Fire service spokesperson Lt Col Yannis Artopios told the BBC that potentially thousands of people were evacuated from Platanistos, on Evia, overnight. Evia and Corfu - both of which have issued evacuation orders - have experienced strong winds throughout the day, he said, adding "it is not totally under control". "We continue to hunt fires everyday," he said. Reporting from Rhodes, BBC correspondent Jenny Hill said that firefighting aircraft have once again taken to the skies on Tuesday morning, dumping water onto the blazing ground below. Until now, that has been in vain. It does not help that winds are very strong, fanning the flames, while temperatures are also expected to remain high into the middle of this week. There a){kind=link}
More holidaymakers are arriving back in the UK on repatriation flights from Rhodes as authorities continue to tackle wildfires on the Greek island.
Up to 10,000 Britons are believed to be staying on the island, with flights home continuing throughout the week.
Tourists have had to flee hotels and sleep outside as fires spread towards resorts on the eastern coast.
Meanwhile, a firefighting plane crashed on Tuesday and two people are missing, officials said.
The plane crashed near Platanisto, a village on Evia, another Greek island, fire service spokesman Lt Col Yanni Artopios told AFP.