Fires in Greece: "We have no water!" - dramatic scenes during rescue operations

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Fire on Euboea: "The state is absent"

Photo: Vasilis Rebapis / imago images / ANE Edition

In the north of the Greek island of Evia, dramatic scenes took place during the fight against the forest fires on Sunday evening.

In the coastal town of Pefki, the fire brigade, military and citizens could no longer counter the flames, as TV pictures showed.

"We have no water!" Shouted the people, dragging the last drops from wells in wheelbarrows and buckets while the fire trucks had to go to refuel.

Helpers carried elderly people to the coast, where they were rescued by boats.

Cats and dogs were also herded together on the bank.

Many houses caught fire, and in some places people tried to cut trees next to the buildings to prevent the flames from spreading.

Fire-fighting planes were nowhere to be seen for hours, reported the Skai broadcaster.

At least 35,000 hectares of forest burned down

Hundreds of houses and at least 35,000 hectares of forest have already been destroyed in the past few days in northern Evia.

The region is shrouded in thick smoke, and the southeast wind drives the flame front further and further towards the northernmost tip of the island.

Steep slopes and rugged terrain make extinguishing work difficult.

Around 2000 residents of the island have had to be brought to safety so far.

Violent forest fires have been raging in Greece for almost two weeks.

According to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis), over 56,000 hectares of land have been burned to date.

In the years 2008 to 2020 there was an average of 1,700 hectares in the same period.

The country is currently experiencing an extraordinary heat wave, for which experts also blame climate change.

"Another difficult night lies ahead of us"

Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias

In the north of Athens, the situation has now eased again.

The fires there are under control, but it could take up to two weeks before the power supply is back up everywhere.

However, the fire continues on the Peloponnese peninsula, Evia and dozens of other regions in Greece.

"Another difficult night lies ahead of us," said Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias.

A fire department spokesman told the newspaper "Eleftheros Typos" that the heat of the fires was so extreme that "the water evaporated from the hoses and from the fire-fighting planes" before it could reach the flames.

"We are alone in God's hands"

Many islanders feel left alone; they criticize the fact that aid focused primarily on the capital when it was still burning there: »I already have no voice, so often I've asked about additional fire-fighting planes.

I just can't stand this situation any longer, ”said the mayor of Mantoudi, Giorgos Tsapourniotis, to Skai TV.

Many villages have only been spared from the flames so far because residents stayed despite the evacuation order and kept the fire in check with the garden hose, reported Tsapourniotis.

"The state is absent," said Jannis Selimis from Gouves.

“If the people leave, the villages will burn.

We are alone in God's hands. ”Several European countries have meanwhile sent aid, including Germany.

The Deputy Civil Protection Minister Hardalias rejected the criticism on Sunday.

Smoke, wind and the resulting poor visibility would have hindered the work of the fire-fighting aircraft.

While fighting the fires, a fire-fighting plane crashed over the holiday island of Zakynthos on Sunday.

The pilot survived the crash.

The ANA news agency reported that he was doing well.

Other firefighters would have helped him.

Fires also in southern Italy and Turkey

There are still fires in many places in southern Italy and Turkey.

At least six fires were not yet under control in Turkey on Sunday, according to official information.

The forces mainly concentrated on the Mugla province in southwest Turkey.

There, according to the Anadolu news agency, another fire broke out near Dalaman International Airport on Sunday afternoon.

Initially, nothing was known of any adverse effects on travel.

more on the subject

• Worldwide droughts and floods: Where the climate changes - and where we still have a chanceBy Francesco Collini, Johann Grolle and Thomas Milz

• Forest fires devastate Greece: The whole country is a powder keg From Olympia, Giorgos Christides reports

• Outrage over Erdoğan over forest fires: "I will cry with rage" By Sebnem Arsu and Anna-Sophie Schneider

Numerous nature reserves in southern Italy have been affected by the fires.

The Italian civil protection authority sent reinforcements to Calabria.

There it burned, among other things, in the Aspromonte National Park.

The heat is supposed to continue.

In Sicily and Sardinia, up to 45 degrees is expected.

The Italian civil protection authority is therefore warning of further fires.

»Hotspot of Climate Change«

In the climate report presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday, the researchers warned of increased heat waves, droughts and fires in the Mediterranean region.

The region "hotspot of climate change," it says in a chapter on global warming in the region, from which the AFP news agency quotes.

With global warming of two degrees Celsius, the area of ​​burned forests will increase by 87 percent compared to the pre-industrial era.

Only limiting global warming to below two degrees could "probably keep coastal settlements, cultural heritage sites, land and marine ecosystems in most areas of the Mediterranean in a viable state."

Currently the earth has already warmed up by 1.1 degrees Celsius.

slü / AFP