Wildfires rage across Turkey's Izmir province
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Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Drought depletes Turkey's Tekirdag reservoirs, forcing emergency water curbs
TEKIRDAG, Turkey, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A drought in Turkey's northwestern province of Tekirdag has left the area's main dams without potable water, straining infrastructure and leaving some homes without water for weeks, due to a sharp drop in precipitation in the country this year. Authorities say drought is a critical issue, with several provinces warning of limited fresh water supply this summer. Various areas in Izmir, Turkey's third-most populous province, have experienced frequent water cuts this month, while the municipality in the western province of Usak was told over the weekend it would have access to water just six hours a day, with the main water reservoir depleted. Rainfall slumped 71% in July across the country from a year ago, according to Turkey's Meteorological Service. In the Marmara region, which includes Tekirdag and Istanbul, it shrank 95% below the monthly norm in July. In the ten months to August, precipitation sank 32% in Marmara compared to the norm, while it fell 26% across Turkey to the lowest in 52 years. The water level in Tekirdag's Naip Dam, which has not seen any rainfall in June and July, fell to zero percent in August. That has forced authorities to find alternatives like delivering irrigation water for domestic use and building a pump system for delivery into urban areas. The dam's water level was 21% this time last year, according to the State Hydraulic Works. Mehmet Ali Sismanlar, head of Tekirdag's Water and Sewerage Administration (TESKI), said rainfall in Tekirdag has reduced dramatically over the past decade, and severe drought over the last two years has spurred frequent water cuts in some areas this summer. "We are the area and the province that has been affected the most by the drought in Turkey," he said, attributing it to climate change. The water in Turkmenli dam, usually used for irrigation, was used to supply water to Tekirdag's Marmaraereglisi district, where some neighbourhoods faced water cuts. TESKI was working to open new wells to use ground water, not usually a preferred measure, Sismanlar said. He said ground water had sunk to twice its original depth over the years. Mehmet, 70, a resident who lives in the Dereagzi neighbourhood with his family, said their home has had no water for two months, leaving them unable to shower or perform chores, and they were fetching water from nearby areas in large bottles. "I have been living in filth for the past two months," he said, standing among dirty piles of dishes in the kitchen, and adding that he last showered when he went to Istanbul, around 130 kilometres (81 miles) away. His wife, Fatma, 65, said the family stayed up at night to fill up bottles in case water supply is resumed. Remzi Karabas, 71, said he takes his laundry to Istanbul to be washed, but was done with living in Tekirdag. "We'll leave some day soon. What can we do here? Water does not flow at all."
Daily Mail
13-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Thousands battle Greek wildfires as flames descend on third-largest city and tourists are evacuated
Greece on Wednesday battled to contain more than 20 wildfires, with flames descending on its third-largest city and forcing thousands of evacuations as a scorching heatwave continues to tear through Europe. Residents and tourists today fled the popular holiday islands of Zakynthos and Cephalonia as fires ripped through houses and farmland. A blaze near the ancient Mycenaean archaeological site of Voudeni, just four miles from Patras, Greece 's third-largest city, threatened forested zones and homes, while 7,700 people were evacuated from a nearby town. Since dawn on Wednesday, 4,850 firefighters and 33 planes were mobilised across Greece on what promised to be 'a very difficult day', fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said. Fierce wind 'is hampering the task of water bombers, and is making collecting water at sea more difficult', the president of the firefighter officers' union, Kostas Tsigkas, told public broadcaster ERT. In the western Achaia region in the Peloponnese, to which the coastal city of Patras belongs, around 20 villages were evacuated on Tuesday. Other fronts were burning on the popular tourist island of Zante and the Aegean island of Chios, scarred by a huge wildfire in June that ravaged more than 4,000 hectares. The Greek coastguard said it had helped evacuate nearly 80 people from Chios and near Patras. The national ambulance service reported 52 hospitalisations from Achaia, Chios and the western town of Preveza, including 'a small number of firefighters', mostly for respiratory problems and minor burns. Temperatures are due to come close to 40C in parts of western Greece on Wednesday, including the northwest Peloponnese, national weather service EMY forecast. After Greece requested four water bombers from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to bolster its resources, leftist opposition party Syriza criticised the conservative government's preparation for the fires that hit every year. Greece needed 'a bold redistribution of resources in favour of civil protection', an 'emphasis on prevention', better coordination and new technologies in its civil protection system, Syriza said. Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, the Balkans and Britain have this week wilted in high temperatures that fuel wildfires and which scientists say human-induced climate change is intensifying. Wildfires have continued to rip through Spain, where cooler temperatures and greater humidity were expected to help control blazes in which two people have died. Authorities in the northwestern region of Castile and Leon, where flames have threatened a world heritage Roman mining site, said almost 6,000 people from 26 localities had been evacuated from their homes. Bushy undergrowth and searing temperatures that have baked Spain for almost two weeks had created 'the worst possible breeding ground for this situation', Castile and Leon's civil protection head Irene Cortes said. Burned cars are seen at an impound lot in Kato Achaia, during a wildfire near Patras city, western Greece, Wednesday, Aug. 13 Madrid was hit by fireballs on Monday night as a hellish blaze fuelled by strong winds burned several houses in the capital's suburbs. At least 180 people were evacuated overnight from Tres Cantos, an affluent suburb northeast of Madrid, after wildfires tore through homes and farmland. A farmer who had been taken by helicopter to the La Paz hospital after suffering burns on 98 percent of his body, later died, the Community of Madrid confirmed on Tuesday. He reportedly sustained his injuries while trying to rescue 27 horses, who were also killed in the blaze. Spanish authorities said today a 35-year-old volunteer firefighter died on Tuesday while trying to extinguish a wildfire. Kings College, a prestigious British private school, is also understood to have suffered some damage, and a donkey shelter burned down. Due to the speed of winds, the flames quickly spread and reached the Norman pharmaceutical laboratories, where sounds of explosions were reportedly heard. 'In barely 40 minutes, the fire advanced six kilometres,' Carlos Novillo, Madrid's regional environment chief, told reporters. Screengrab shows hellish wildfires last night lighting up Madrid's skyline The inferno then spread to the adjacent affluent suburbs of Fuente del Fresno and Soto de Viñuelas, where residents remained on evacuation alerts overnight. Footage shared on social media showed how flames spread through forested areas, while thick smoke billowed into the sky. Other videos showed how strong winds pushed blazes across fields as fire services rushed to contain the inferno. Firefighters managed to contain the wildfire near the Spanish capital by Tuesday morning thanks to favourable overnight conditions, regional authorities said. A total of 199 wildfires have scorched nearly 98,784 hectares across Spain this year, more than double the area burned during the same period in 2024. Neighbouring Portugal deployed more than 1,800 firefighters and around 20 aircraft against five major blazes, with efforts focused on a blaze in the central municipality of Trancoso that has raged since Saturday. Strong gusts of wind had rekindled flames overnight and threatened nearby villages, where television images showed locals volunteering to help the firefighters under a thick cloud of smoke. 'It's scary... but we are always ready to help each other,' a mask-wearing farmer told Sic Noticias television, holding a spade in his hand. Italian firefighters had extinguished a blaze that burned for five days on the famed Mount Vesuvius and spewed plumes of smoke over the Naples area. In Britain, temperatures were expected to peak at 34C in the country's fourth heatwave of the summer. The UK Health Security Agency warned of 'significant impacts' on health and social care services for the parts of central and southeastern England where the harshest heat was forecast.
The Sun
08-08-2025
- The Sun
Holiday carnage with thousands left stranded & two dead after gale force winds batter Greece & shut down ferries
THOUSANDS have been left stranded and two dead after gale force winds have pummelled Greece. Travel plans have been disrupted for hundreds of holidaygoers bound for the Cyclades and other Aegean islands. 3 3 3 A sailing ban has been issued as authorities have urged travellers to seek alternative routes. Two Vietnamese tourists died at sea in Greece on Friday, the coastguard said, as gale-force winds confined many ferries to port. The raging winds have disrupted travel for tens of thousands of summer travellers, and also sparked fires. A coastguard spokeswoman said a man and woman had died at the Sarakiniko beach on the tourist island of Milos in the Cyclades, as firefighters battled blazes near Athens and the island of Cephalonia. "The man and woman were found unconscious in the sea and were taken to the local health centre," the spokeswoman said. "They were Vietnamese tourists on a cruise ship group. The woman fell in the water and the man apparently tried to save her," she said. The civil protection ministry said wind gusts would reach 88 kilometres (54 miles) an hour, especially in the southern Aegean and the Sea of Crete. Over 200 firefighters backed by three aircraft and five helicopters were battling a fire in Keratea, east of Athens, Costas Tsigkas, head of the association of Greek firefighter officers, told ERT state television. "It's a difficult fire...(owing) to wind gusts," he said, adding that a number of local communities had been evacuated. The Cephalonia fire was earlier placed under control, local officials said. National weather service EMY said the phenomenon would weaken after midnight. The coastguard said most ferries were unable to depart on schedule from Piraeus and other Athens ports, especially to the Cyclades or Dodecanese islands. Several planned ferries were cancelled while others were postponed. Maritime connections with the Saronic islands near Athens including Aegina, Hydra, Poros and Spetses and the Ionian Sea are unaffected, it said. The Athens National Observatory in a statement also warned there was a "very high potential for wind-driven forest fires", particularly in the east and south of the country. The mayor of Athens had shut down the National Garden on Thursday after a tree fell in one of the capital's busiest high streets, narrowly missing shoppers. Strong winds are common in Greece at this time of year.
