Many patients have been transferred from a hospital in northeastern Greece because of wildfires that have been burning for four days near Alexandroupolis city.
The fire came closer to the university hospital and many people who had to leave were brought to a boat near the port.
Some babies that were just born and patients needing special care were moved.
The hospital area experienced explosions which were said to be caused by oxygen bottles exploding.
Alexandroupolis is a big port near the border of Greece and Turkey. Greece is facing wildfires in several areas, including Alexandroupolis, due to strong winds and high temperatures that will reach 39C (102F) on Tuesday.
There are big fires happening in other places – on the island of Evia and in Boeotia in central Greece. People have had to leave their homes in several villages.
One person has died from the fires near Alexandroupolis.
Greek officials told a group of ambulances and buses to take around 115 patients from the university hospital on the outer edge of the city.
According to reports, fire reached the hospital area during a surgery and the hospital was covered in heavy smoke and ash.
There was a bright red light at night on the edge of Alexandroupolis and pictures from space showed that many parts of Greece had a lot of smoke.
Some patients went to different hospitals in the city, but around 90 of them went on a ferry called the Adamantios Korais. The ferry was made into a special place for taking care of very sick patients and new babies.
Patients who needed oxygen had to lie on mattresses on the ship converted into a hospital. Some of them were welcomed on the shore with tents set up for them.
At night, people in eight nearby villages were told to leave their houses and go to a safe place in Alexandroupolis.
Fires are happening far away from the city in Rhodope and Kavala.
France, Cyprus, and Romania have sent additional assistance to support the firefighters in Greece.
In Greece, we often have wildfires during the summer. Scientists have found that the more frequent and intense extreme weather events, like heatwaves, are connected to climate change.
Last month, many people had to run away from fires on the Greek island of Rhodes and in different areas of the country.
“Greece had a very bad July when it comes to wildfires. It was the worst July since 2008,” said Janez Lenarčič, the EU’s Commissioner for Crisis Management, on Monday.
“The area that has been burned is larger, and the fires are stronger and more forceful, resulting in the burning of a larger area than previously. “
Ioannis Artophios, a spokesperson for the Greek fire service, mentioned that they were dealing with very unusual events and that it was important for everyone to adjust to this challenging situation.
Greece, along with other European countries, is in great danger of wildfires right now, as stated by the EU’s climate monitoring service, Copernicus.
Firefighters have been working to put out a fire on the island of Tenerife in Spain for nearly a week, but the authorities think the hardest part is over now.
The fire has destroyed a lot of land and made over 12,000 people leave their homes, according to the local government.
Some areas in southern France might have very hot weather soon, and it might break previous temperature records. The Rhone valley and other places will have temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius.