Italy and Greece, the countries most affected in southern Europe by fires this summer

2023-07-28 09:50:04

Italy and Greece are the most affected countries, in terms of burned surfacedue to the fires that were registered at the end of this month of July in several Mediterranean countries, both in southern Europe and in northern Africa.

In Italy, the worst is still in the island of sicily, where in the last two days 700 hectares of wooded area have burned in 338 fires, causing damage worth 60 million euros, according to a first estimate by the local Civil Protection. To these we must add another 200 million more, quantified by the agricultural sectorcoinciding with the heat wave that left temperatures above 45 degrees.

In Sicily, at least 700 hectares of forest have burned due to 338 fires that have occurred in recent days

Yesterday they were still active about thirty firesAlthough the situation has improved in the province of Messina, while in Mandanici it is “under control”. Nevertheless, several families have seen their houses destroyedhectares of forest heritage were burned and the lighting, telephone and water network systems have been damaged by the flames.

In Palermo, The fires also continue and since this Thursday the firefighting planes have been flying over the wooded area of ​​Altofonte. Meanwhile, the Fico valley has been burning for two days, but the firefighters assure that at least this fire is under control.

In the same province, the flames did not spare the Segestan Archaeological Park, whose surroundings were calcinedalthough fortunately, they did not damage the Greek temple and the theater.

The fires of Rhodes, Corfu and Euboea continue out of control in Greece

Greece is the other southern European country most affected so far, during this summer, with great fires throughout its territory and new outbreaks in the interior of the country, while the flames on the islands of Rhodes, Corfu and Euboea They continue out of control.

The front that most worries the authorities at the moment is the one that began this Wednesday five kilometers west of Volos, in central Greece, as threatens the industrial zone of this city 150,000 inhabitants: last morning it was necessary to evacuate at least nine coastal towns.

According to the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vasilis Kikiliasa total of 594 fires have been suffered in Greece during the last ten days and, in addition to damage to property and the environment, have so far left five fatalities.

Some 19,000 people have had to be evacuated from the island of Rhodes

In Rhodes, some have already burned 16,000 hectares of forestSeveral houses have been burnt down and an unquantified number of animals have died, while 19,000 people (7,000 of them tourists) had to be evacuated.

In Euboea, a great front was revived on Wednesday night around to the seaside town of Karistowhile in Corfu, in northwestern Greece, another major forest fire continues to rage out of control.

Spain also faces several fires this July although, so far, they have not reached the ravagers last year’s levels: one of the last to be extinguished in the peninsula has been that of Santa Colomba de Curueño (León) on Thursday morning; while in the archipelago Canary has remained stabilized the one that was declared on Tuesday at the summit in Gran Canaria.

So far, the fires in Spain have not been as serious as in 2022

However, the firefighting teams work against the reactivation of the fire that broke out in the island of La Palma on July 15 and that burns again in the National Park of the Caldera de Taburientein an area of ​​difficult access.

In North Africa, the Algerian authorities confirmed control of all fires that especially affected the Kabylia region and that show a balance of 34 dead and more than 300 injured.

And in Tunisia, this Thursday, the Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME) has considered the last active outbreak under control. Indeed, the UME, together with two fire-extinguishing planes from the Spanish Air Force, participated in extinguishing the flames in the Tunisian province of Tabarka.

This North African country has registered, since Monday, 14 outbreaks in eight regions with at least one fatality. Over there, The Malloula forest is the hardest hit area due to its location, facing the sea, in an area exposed to strong winds and high temperatures that have exceeded 50 degrees in various parts of the territory.

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