Firefighters battled on Monday to put out wildfires in three separate provinces of Turkey, in Greece and near a tourist resort in Albania, stoked by strong winds after days of searing heat across the Mediterranean region.

A politician in Turkey described the scene as "an apocalypse" as forests burned and more than 1,100 firefighters battled the flames. Meanwhile, in Greece, some suburbs of Athens have been evacuated.

Heavy rains swept across northeastern Romania overnight into Monday, causing flash floods that killed at least one person and forced hundreds to flee, as neighbouring Turkey and Albania continued to deal with widespread wildfires amid extreme summer conditions.