Two found dead in car as Cyprus wildfire rages on
Two people were found dead in their car, trapped by the blaze which started on Wednesday, local time.
Scores of homes were destroyed as people fled their homes overnight from a towering wall of flames north of the city of Limassol.
Although the cause was not immediately known, authorities said they would be looking at the possibility of arson.
"It was sheer hell," said Father Michalis, a Greek Orthodox priest who had to evacuate his village.
After subsiding early Thursday, authorities were struggling to contain flare-ups at midday, stoked by strong winds.
"Our focus right now is to control the fire, utilising to the maximum all ground and air forces," government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said.
"We are facing an unprecedented situation."
The fire, which broke out Wednesday amid 44-degree heat and strong winds, tore through at least 100 square kilometres, devastating a wine-producing region already suffering from drought.
A new amber warning was in place on Thursday, with highs forecast to hit 44 degrees Celsius — the hottest of the year so far.
Cyprus has struggled with a drought, pushing scarce water resources to critically low levels.
The affected area sits just north of Cyprus's Kouris reservoir, the island's largest.
It was at just over 15 per cent of its capacity on Wednesday.
Although heatwaves and wildfires are common in this region, their impact on human life and the damage has become much more pronounced in recent years.
"It's an unspeakable tragedy for everyone … Unfortunately, we'll no longer have this paradise that we enjoyed for so many years," said resident Kostas Hatzikonstantinou.
Burned-out cars, collapsed roofs, and blackened churches lay in the hillside villages of Souni and nearby Kantou, where firefighting helicopters continued dumping water on smouldering ground.
Firefighters across Türkiye also battled multiple wildfires on Thursday amid a heatwave that killed 10 firefighters.
At least six separate wildfires burned across Turkey and Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli warned that strong winds and scorching heat were creating extremely dangerous conditions.
Late on Wednesday, Yumakli said 10 firefighters were killed while battling a fire in the central Eskisehir province, adding that 14 others were injured.
Reuters/ABC
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
10 hours ago
- ABC News
Need for Feed Australia truck convoy hits Nullarbor for SA drought relief
Truck-loads of help has arrived in SA's Eyre Peninsula from across the WA border. It's all part of a huge exercise to deliver thousands of bales of hay to areas in the grip of drought.
News.com.au
13 hours ago
- News.com.au
Greece gets EU help to battle disastrous wildfires
Greece battled wildfires that have ravaged homes and sparked evacuations for a second day on Sunday, with the help of Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft expected to arrive later. The fronts were raging Sunday morning in the Peloponnese area west of the capital, as well as on the islands of Evia and Kythera, with aircraft and helicopters resuming their work in several parts of the country at dawn. Forecasters predicted the strong winds that have fanned the flames would die down on Sunday in most areas, but warned that Kythera continued to face "worrying" windy conditions. Evacuation messages were sent to people on the island, which lies off the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese, early on Sunday as the fire was raging unabated. "Houses, beehives, olive trees have been burnt," Giorgos Komninos, deputy mayor of Kythera, told local outlet ERT News. "A monastery is in direct danger right now," he said, adding that half of the island had been burnt. Dozens of firefighters supported by three helicopters and two aircraft were battling the Kythera blaze, which erupted Saturday morning and forced the evacuation of a popular tourist beach. Greece had requested help from EU allies and two Italian aircraft were expected Sunday, according to the fire brigade, with units from the Czech Republic already at work. - Heatwave conditions - Eleven regions of Greece still face a very high fire risk, according to officials. Firefighters are working in several areas of the Peloponnese and there were several flare-ups overnight on the island of Evia, near Athens, where the flames have laid waste to swathes of forest and killed thousands of farm animals. Further south on Crete, reports said fires that broke out on Saturday afternoon and destroyed four houses and a church and largely been contained. Greece has endured heatwave conditions for almost a week, with temperatures passing 40 degrees Celsius in many areas, though the heat is expected to die down from Monday. kan/jxb
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Green paddocks mask reality of communities still very much in drought
After winter rain finally arrived, puddles formed in tractor tracks besides green grass on Chris Rowntree's property in Myponga, South Australia. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) Rain has returned to farming regions in South Australia. But the drought is not over — it just looks like it. A carpet of grass is again coating the paddocks of Chris Rowntree's property in Myponga on the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of Adelaide. In some places, puddles and mud are even lining the ground. But looks can be misleading. "It is deceptive," dairy farmer Chris says. Despite the arrival of the winter rains, including hefty falls this week, Chris says his farm is still in drought. It's been a while since Chris Rowntree had to contend with puddles and muddy boots. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) Grass has started to sprout after winter rain finally arrived. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) But dairy farmer Chris Rowntree says the green masks the reality. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) Large parts of SA and Victoria, as well as parts of Tasmania — the home for a lot of Australia's wine, grain, meat and dairy production — remain at their lowest rainfall on record for the last year and a half. For some, it's gone on for even longer. In the 17 months from February to July this year, some areas have experienced their lowest rainfall on record. Beyond the muddied boots, there is a convoy of trucks full of hay still rolling in from the other side of the Nullarbor in Western Australia. Livestock are still being hand-fed daily. Producers are still stretched thin and worn down. "We're probably lucky that at least we've had rain," Chris says "But if you look closer and drive through the paddocks, there are areas that are very thin in pasture, and growth rates are being very poor." The sun sets over the gated path on Chris Rowntree's property in Myponga, South Australia. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) It's what's known as a "green drought". The rain may have come, but in many cases, it's arrived too late. Cold is now hindering the growth of plants. "Most people would know that their lawns in the middle of winter don't tend to do a lot, and that's what's happening on the whole farm," Chris says. It's not just the late arrival of the rains this year. Since spring 2023, the rains have stopped early and arrived late. It's left pastures dead or stressed, and the ground thirsty for every drop that falls. Due to the late rain, Chris Rowntree still has to handfeed his cattle. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) The fine layer of grass has not been substantial enough, and feed trucks keep delivering to Myponga. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) Chris's paddocks are still reeling after a lack of rain the year before. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) Myponga is one of the wettest parts of the state. Still, Chris and his wife, Bev, have to purchase the majority of their feed — something that is now scarce in South Australia because of the prolonged dry. "Between that May period and now, it's about nine semitrailer loads of feed that we've had to purchase that we normally wouldn't. Which is, yeah … quite a lot," he said. Fifteen minutes north, in Hay Flat, the trees show the reality beneath the thin veneer of green. "In about March this year, I noticed a number of trees, including quite large trees, with their leaves going brown and dying off," Hay Flat property owner John Dallwitz says. "Normally in late summer, one gets a certain amount of die-off … but this year, it seemed worse than usual or more than usual." He's worried for some of the older eucalyptus trees on his property, which are showing severe signs of stress. "It's devastating," he says. But the rains brought life back for at least some. "That's alive," John says, as he scrapes back the bark of a tree. "That's nowhere near dead. So I'm very thankful that my 200-year-old, 300-year-old tree is going to survive." Many trees on John Dallwitz's bush block in Hay Flat won't come back. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) John is particularly worried about some eucalyptus trees which are hundreds of years old. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) John Dallwitz shaves off some bark from a tree trunk. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) Green beneath the bark of trees makes John hopeful that some of the trees will survive the drought. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) He's not the only one with these concerns. An hour east, botanist and ecologist Dean Nicolle grows over 800 species of eucalyptus at the Currency Creek Arboretum. He estimates between 10 and 20 per cent of all the eucalypt species that are planted at the Arboretum are going to die or be "severely drought impacted". "We're hoping that with the rain we've had now, that some of these plants will re-sprout, but a lot of that will depend on conditions going forward," he says. The flow-on effects of the drought are felt by all in the town of Langhorne Creek. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) Nearby, in Langhorne Creek, Beck Burgess deals with the deception of the green drought every day. She is a farm consultant but also owns a microbrewery just out of town. "The frustration for me is when we did have people coming to our bar and saying 'the drought is over,'" she says. "Even if it does look green, there's still very challenging times for producers." Beck Burgess is keen to dispel the myth the green landscape means the drought is over. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) She says the realities of the harsh seasons are seeping through all parts of the community, including their own business, where the price of raw ingredients needed for beer — like hops — has gone up. "There's a roll-on effect when [people in] agriculture in these rural areas are unable to contribute to their local economy," she says. "So the local shopfront is affected, the tractor dealership's affected, local shearers, all the like … but also the local businesses as well. "People we know won't necessarily be spending the same amount of money within the townships as well." Even though things are bad, people in this part of the state are aware that it could be worse. South Australia's outback has been heavily impacted by drought. ( ABC News: Che Chorley ) In regions to the north and east of Adelaide, there's nothing green about the drought. While rain has been reaching the southern regions since late May, it has all but missed areas to the north and east of Adelaide. Steph Schmidt, who farms crop and livestock in the Mid North and Mallee regions, says the landscape has changed very little from the scenes of dust storms and brown dirt in June. Being a psychologist as well, farmer Steph Schmidt (with her sons) knows how deeply communities are affected by the ongoing drought. ( Supplied: Stepth Schmidt ) At her property in the Mallee region, their crop now has to be re-sown, after being "blown out of the ground or covered up". "Across the majority of our farm, it's still really in drought drought or brown drought, whatever we want to call it," she said. "Lots of the neighbours [at our Mallee property] have said the last couple of years were some of the worst on record, but we still had crops come up and still grow. "Whereas this year, talking to some of the neighbours, they're saying it's the worst they've ever seen. It's completely bare." The Mallee region is still very much in "brown drought". ( Supplied: Steph Schmidt ) Sandstorms and brown dust still dominate the landscape. ( Supplied: Steph Schmidt ) This weekend's rain is more than welcome. Steph describes it as being like a "lifeline" to people who have been worn down for several years. "I think it would be a breather more than anything," she says. But like those in the south, it's come too late to make a substantial difference. As a psychologist, Steph knows too well how much of a toll the back-to-back seasons of dry are taking. "It's exhausting," she says. "I think the hardest part of the drought is that there is so much uncertainty. We never know when that recovery is actually going to get started." The contrasting situations, from one end of the state to the other, speak to the nuance of drought. Farmers have learned to adapt to changing environments. ( Supplied: Chris Rowntree ) Monash University climate scientist Ailie Gallant in many cases, the timing of rainfall is everything. "There are no official definitions for drought. In fact, there are hundreds of different definitions for drought, and it really depends on the perspective from which you're looking at," Professor Gallant says. "Farmers, they know when they're in drought. And I think we should trust those on the [land] to realise when those systems are in stress and when they need help." She said the changing face of drought could also give a false sense of relief. But she says a drought is only truly over when big and persistent rains have replenished the streams, rivers and soil moisture enough that it can be sustained. A few rain events and a couple of puddles may give false hope. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) A lack of rain during the critical growing season is one of the hallmarks of climate change for this region. Cold fronts and low-pressure systems rolling in from the west, which used to be a weekly occurrence, have become more sporadic. "So that is certainly an ongoing trend that is on top of any droughts and things that we might get," Professor Gallant says. Farmers in the region, who have learned to live at the mercy of extreme weather for generations, are already adapting to that future. Chris Rowntree is grateful he had at least some rain on his farm. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) His dog looks hopeful that the rain will keep coming. ( ABC News: Sarah Maunder ) For now, there is some more hopeful news on the horizon. The long-range forecast indicates early spring could deliver higher-than-average rainfall to much of the east — the very thing farmers are hoping for. In the meantime, drought-weary farmers say consumer buying Australian produce and government providing further funding for low or no-interest loans will help. Steph Schmidt wants to remind communities in the thick of it that they will make it through. "For people who are living it, I just like want to share the reminders that we will get through to the other side of it." Credits: Reporting: Tyne Logan Photography: Sarah Maunder Drone vision: Guido Salazar Digital Production: Fran Rimrod Posted 16m ago 16 minutes ago Sat 26 Jul 2025 at 7:11pm
