The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Greece: rain could contain fires

2021-08-12T05:31:58.558Z


In Greece, people are hoping for an improvement in the still critical forest fire situation: rain clouds are moving in the direction of Athens. Italy has more hot days ahead.


Enlarge image

Fire in Greece: The rain from the northeast could contain fires somewhat

Photo: SPIROS KOUROS / EPA

Greece

In Greece, after sharp weather contrasts, people are hoping for an improvement in the forest fire situation: While firefighters on the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Evia continued to fight the flames in a heat of over 30 degrees, hail showers and rain fell in the northeast. In the country, people are now hoping that the rain clouds on Thursday will also cover the fire-tormented north of the second largest island of Evia and the west of the Peloponnese peninsula and contain the fires there somewhat. In Athens, rains were expected on Thursday night.

On Euboea, almost 900 firefighters fought against the flames with 232 fire engines and other vehicles on Thursday night.

According to the Greek fire brigade, 578 firefighters and 181 vehicles were in action in the west of the Peloponnese peninsula on Wednesday evening.

Rescue workers from more than 20 countries are now deployed on these two largest fire fronts in Greece, including fire fighters and the technical relief organization from Germany.

Algeria

In Algeria, the number of deaths has increased further after the devastating forest fires in the country. At least 49 civilians died in the flames, the state news agency APS reported, citing the attorney general of the particularly affected region of Tizi Ouzou. There may be hundreds of injuries. According to the state television, 28 soldiers were also killed in rescue operations. In total, more than 100 fires broke out in the North African country. The government is assuming arson.

According to media reports, people who have lost their houses in the flames or were brought to safety as a precaution are temporarily staying in student dormitories, schools or with host families.

Two fire-fighting planes that were previously in use in Greece are expected to come from the EU on Thursday.

Italy

In Italy, residents and tourists in many parts of the country have to prepare for more hot days - after a heat record may already have been measured on the island of Sicily.

The Ministry of Health issued the highest heat wave level three for many Italian cities for Thursday and Friday.

Accordingly, it should be very hot in Bari on the southern Adriatic coast, in the capital Rome, Palermo and Trieste.

In Sicily, a measuring station in the province around the city of Syracuse showed 48.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, as reported by the Ansa news agency. The value could therefore be a European record - but it would have to be officially confirmed. In 1977, 48 degrees Celsius were measured in Athens and the city of Elefsina, some 30 kilometers to the west.

According to media reports, the number of forest fire deaths in Calabria rose to four on Wednesday. In the town of Cardeto in the southern Italian region of Calabria, a missing pensioner was found dead on his property, as the news agency Ansa reported in the evening. The man died of burns. Previously, in another place in Calabria further north, a pensioner was also killed in the flames as they surrounded his property. In Sicily, according to agency reports, a man in the province around the city of Catania was killed while driving his tractor to a fire.

The Italian civil defense received ten requests for air support with fire-fighting planes from Calabria - more than from any other region on the day.

Across the country, the pilots brought four fires under control or were able to extinguish them from the air.

Air support was therefore not possible for three of them.

Turkey

In Turkey, strong winds and temperatures around 40 degrees have recently rekindled the fire.

In the mountains of the municipality of Köycegiz in Mugla in southwest Turkey, fires were not yet under control on Wednesday evening.

According to the information, villages were not threatened.

The fires in the inaccessible area would be fought from the air and with forces on the ground.

In the province of Antalya, emergency services fought a new fire near a residential area in the city of Manavgat, which, according to a spokeswoman, was quickly brought under control.

In the western Turkish province of Burdur, houses had to be evacuated on Wednesday due to a new fire.

Two weeks after the fires started in Turkey, most of the fires are under control.

However, sparks can still jump over and over and cause fires due to the extreme drought combined with winds.

Japan

While countries in southern Europe are struggling with fires, Japan is again hit by heavy rains. The main southwest island of Kyushu is badly affected. Tens of thousands of residents were called on to seek safety from the danger of landslides. The national meteorological authority warned on Thursday of further heavy rainfall in the next few days. Kyushu, the third largest of the Japanese main islands, has a warm to subtropical climate. The weather authority called on the residents of other areas in the west, east and northeast of the island kingdom to be more careful because of the danger of landslides and floods. As a result of global warming, Japan is increasingly hit by heavy rains.As a result, landslides are becoming more and more common in the mountainous island kingdom.

ptz / dpa

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2021-08-12

You may like

Trends 24h

Life/Entertain 2024-03-28T17:17:20.523Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.