A state of emergency has been declared in the townships of Petalouda and Kallithea on the island of Rhodes following devastating fires, the Deputy Civil Protection and Crisis Management Minister Nikos Hardalias announced on Monday.

Their emergency status will allow the areas to move faster to manage the result of fires on Sunday. One of them raged inside the Valley of Butterflies, a rare sanctuary and tourist attraction on western part of the island. Butterflies of several species including rare ones stop over at the valley to mate before they move on in September.

The fires took out power on half of the island of Rhodes on Sunday, while a military camp at Kalamonas was evacuated on Sunday for precautionary reasons.