It is a desperate fight against the flames: In Greece, the rain fire brigade comes to help with extinguishing. In Italy, on the other hand, the highest heat wave level is proclaimed for many cities.
Athens – Rainfalls during the night helped significantly in fighting the fires in Greece.
According to reports from local reporters, many fires went out on both the second largest island of Evia and on the Peloponnese peninsula. It is much better, said several mayors on the Peloponnese peninsula unanimously on state radio.
In many cases, drivers received the first raindrops with honking concerts, as the news channel Skai reported. The drought was the main cause of the devastating fires, which, according to initial estimates, destroyed more than 90,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land and thousands of homes. Countless animals died.
Strong winds – danger not averted
However, the fire brigade warned that the danger was not over yet. In many cases the undergrowth was still burning and new fires could break out. In addition, strong winds were blowing across the country.
The change in weather also had another consequence: numerous lightning bolts sparked smaller fires in western Athens and on the Chalkidiki peninsula in the north of the country. However, these could be quickly deleted or brought under control. All fire brigade units from more than 20 nations remained on high alert.
On the two largest fire fronts in Greece – in the north of the second largest island of Evia and in the west of the Peloponnese peninsula – rescue workers from more than 20 countries are now deployed, including firefighters and the technical relief organization from Germany. Numerous states have sent fire-fighting planes and helicopters.
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 service in Greece are said to come from the EU today.
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 today and tomorrow. Accordingly, it should be very hot in Bari on the southern Adriatic coast, in the capital Rome, Palermo and Trieste.
On Sicily yesterday in the province around the city of Syracuse a measuring station showed 48.8 degrees Celsius, as the news agency Ansa reported. 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 has increased to four. In the town of Cardeto in the southern Italian region of Calabria, a missing pensioner was found dead on his property, as reported by the Ansa news agency. 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. According to agency reports in Sicily in the province around the city of Catania, a man lost his life 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, stronger 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, even in the 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. Nonetheless, sparks can always jump and cause fires due to the extreme drought combined with winds. dpa
