Thousands evacuated as wildfires continue to rage in Greece and Albania

Independent

a day ago

A wildfire injured three people and forced the evacuation of about 2,000 residents near the southern Albanian town of Delvina on Friday.
"Three people have sustained burns and suffered asphyxiation," Delvina Deputy Mayor Brunilda Meleqi told Reuters by phone.
Six villages were evacuated, and a church and 10 uninhabited houses were destroyed by the blaze, she said.
The fire's intensity eased in the evening after two helicopters were deployed to assist firefighting efforts.
The Defence Ministry said around 60 soldiers had been dispatched to help contain the fire.
Earlier this week Greek authorities ordered the evacuation of several villages after a major forest fire broke out near the city of Corinth.
More than 180 firefighters, supported by a fleet of 15 aircraft and 12 helicopters, were battling the fast-moving blaze in a pine forest in mountainous terrain west of Athens, officials said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths as fire crews worked through the night, fanned by gusty winds and a stubborn heatwave that has pushed temperatures to around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) across much of Greece.
Greece and the wider Balkans sweltered under the third heatwave of the summer this week, with laborers barred from work, tourists kept away from the ruins, and firefighters battling blazes scattered across the arid countryside.
Shipyard workers in Perama, a town 16 km (10 miles) from Athens, halted operations for five hours on Friday as crushing heat hit the Mediterranean nation, now struggling amid its third and longest heatwave of the summer.
Temperatures soared past 40 degrees Celsius, reaching a peak of 44 degrees Celsius in the west on Friday, ahead of a forecast drop coming on Sunday.
Those building and repairing vessels in the Piraeus Port Authority's repair zone faced particularly difficult conditions, working in the heat and amid the flames of welding tools.
"The last few summers have become very difficult. The temperature is rising, our working environment is becoming even more difficult, and as a result we have several colleagues with health problems due to this work and the heat," said Danil Polatsidis, an electrician at Perama shipyard.
Akis Antoniou, president of the Piraeus metal workers' union, said workers often endure conditions exceeding 50 degrees Celsius, as the machinery used and repair materials amplify the heat.