What happened to disabled people -Rhodes wildfires

[askmeonemoretime]

I keep reading about holidaymakers walking a few miles to the beach to be evacuated and then a mad scramble to get on the boats. But what happened to disabled people?
My DP could not walk a couple of miles or be safe in a crowd of people scrambling to get on a boat. So what happened to people like this?

@gogomoto what difference does an able bodied companion make? My DP is disabled. I can't carry him. Me being there would make no difference to his evacuation

And the tour op Eratosthenes should have stopped leisure flights and holidays.
Every British person I have seen interviewed said holiday reps were nowhere to be seen. One person said other nationalities were picked up by coach, but the British were left to fend for themselves

When we went to Crete with Jet2 earlier this year our rep covered several hotels all within about 1.5 hours drive. I assume Rhodes is the same so I am not sure how they can possibly be expected to convey information to everyone!

I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t actually have any info from Jet2/Greek authorities.

I guess you would be able to go and locate people who could help? In a way someone who isn't able bodied can't.

I agree it would really worry me though.

Yes you could find someone to help if there is anyone.
I haven't read anyone yet saying a rep helped them. Not one person. Any help people have got has been from hotel staff.

Less British reps since Brexit due to visa issues.

I would hope these types of emergencies bring out to best of people and locals and able bodied tourists would look out for those more vulnerable. Or maybe I'm being naive!

I am curious what sort of provision for natural disasters are in place, I suspect it will very much be down to the individual countries disaster response plans? These almost certainly take account of hotels and likely occupancy numbers, maybe with an estimated percentage of people who "may need additional help"? does anyone actually know?

Also what do people think should be on place in these situations? and who should be responsible?

We stayed in a villa in Corfu earlier in the year so we wouldn't have had a rep to help us and no travel company would have known we were there. I have difficulty walking and use a stick but we did have a hire car so assuming the roads were passable we would have been ok. Not sure what we would have done if we couldn't drive anywhere.

Something to bear in mind if we travel anywhere again.

I love the idea that these people had reps at rhe hotel to help them

What im eading is people asleep, called travel company to ask if they needed to move to be told by someone somewhere... No..
Half an hour later sirens were going and people told to run in the swimwear.

No help.

One lady in UK said here daughter and granddaughter were pointed to the beach by "rep" left to walk miles whilst she was drove off.

There was no system in place via reps /holiday company.

Op my df does nt get up till noon he would have been in bed and extremely painfully slow to manoeuvre. My only chance would have been straight into wheel chair and lift but he also need hundreds of tablets.

I'm not physically strong either and struggle to push him for long on smooth tarmac.

No way on rubble roads and sand..

Having said all this op... Greek Islands seem to combust a lot and without fires I wouldn't go in summer anyway.

@frustratednomad

Reps didn't help that them so please don't think booking via a company would get you help

Villa with a car is I think safer. You would drive out before the fire came close. As soon as the fire started I would have been keeping an eye on the news and would have evacuated very early on.

@Drenchend we won't go and I think it will put a lot of elderly and disabled people off going.

Lots said they were lucky and had a car but others said roads closed.

Personally of rather have my own car regardless.

Just dont go to hot places in the height of summer.

Beautiful in may or Oct

That must have been absolutely terrifying

I feel vulnerable with my two dc who are not disabled and older and could walk just about.
No way would I go with older infirm and disabled relatives absolutely not.

May, Oct etc temps are lovely.

@ComeTheFckOnBridget

People out walked these fires

My mum's friend arrived home this morning, they were moved by coach to a school where they spent the night before being flown back to the UK, they arrived at Manchester even though they flew from Leeds Bradford.

That is what should have happened for everyone. The travel firms should have evacuated people by bus much earlier.

@ComeTheFckOnBridget yeah it was. I've had dreams about it since, particularly my mum running away from us towards the neighbours' house with the flames roaring down the mountain towards us. And also a huge curtain of fire jumping the road right in front of us as we drove out. All the coverage brings it back very vividly. I turned on Countryfile last night thinking it would be a nice escape and it was all about...fires!

@Drenchend it can change from a static fire miles away in the mountains to a roaring freight train of fire bearing down on your front door in literally a matter of seconds if the wind starts blowing the wrong way. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't been in it myself.

@Xiaoxiong

You've lived it and seen it, you know this.

Companies are making money sending people out to places where one blow of wind can leave a fire "bearing down on you like a freight train".

Where's were the contingency plans, busses...

Some people were told by their rep to wait for 3 buses.

No busses came and staff hotel said.. Run..

As soon as the fire started I would have been keeping an eye on the news and would have evacuated very early on.

if you are in 'forrin' and don't know the local language and region well enough?

@askmeonemoretime it's easy to say in hindsight but forest fires move so quickly, you don't get much warning if it starts coming your way. Even half an hour before it might not (genuinely) have been a risk significant enough to start mustering up buses and telling people they needed to get packing.

@Drenchend yes there is always a risk of fires, always has been - the difference is that the risk is increasing annually thanks to climate change. I'm not sure what the answer is. The "free market" answer is that travel to those areas will become uninsurable and therefore prohibitively expensive for businesses to offer holiday packages there, and tourism to these areas will not be economically viable except to the wealthy. As climate change deepens we will see more of this, I think.

Greek Islands have summer fires.

Hot places have summer fires.

If you don't want that risk don't go.
I'd never go and that's well before this latest horror.

Locals are blaming arson and wind.

Op, nick Campbell this morning had Greek man on with holiday home, he said he has people from all over staying and all with tui. All left to fend for themselves.

I don't ever remember this happening on this scale in Greece.