Marseille airport closed as high winds fan wildfire
"The fire is spreading," the Marseille municipality said on X. "Avoid all outdoor activities and do not block emergency access routes. Follow instructions and alert messages." A spokeswoman at the mayor's office for the 15th and 16th boroughs of Marseille, which border the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, said the area on the outer limits of the city was increasingly threatened by the fire, and covered in thick smoke. The spokeswoman said they were awaiting instructions from firefighters on whether to begin evacuations, and said residents were very concerned.
As the fire was spreading, residents of the 16th borough were also instructed by the prefecture to stay home, close doors and shutters and put damp cloths on any openings. A spokesperson for Marseille airport, France's fourth-busiest, said planes had not been taking off or landing since around midday and some flights had been diverted to Nice, Nimes and other regional airports. It was unclear when the airport would reopen.
Meanwhile, a wildfire that started near Narbonne, in southwestern France, on Monday was still active, fanned by winds of 60 kilometres per hour. Some 2,000 hectares have burnt, the local prefecture said. Wildfires were also raging in northeastern Spain, where large parts of the country were on high alert for fires. Last week there were fires on the Greek island of Crete and in Athens, as much of Europe sweltered in an early summer heatwave. — Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
2 days ago
- Observer
Italy creates AI assistant to help assess landslide
ROME: More than a million people in Italy live in areas at high or very high risk of landslides and climate change is likely to lead to more of them, a public research body said on Wednesday, announcing a new AI assistant to help them assess the risk. Climate change is increasing the frequency of stronger storms, amplifying risks of landslides and floods and spreading them to areas that were historically less exposed, environmental research and protection institute ISPRA said. The share of land exposed to serious landslide risks rose to 9.5 per cent last year from 8.7 per cent in 2021, it said, with about 2.2 per cent of the population, or about 1.3 million people, living in these areas. 'Italy remains among the European countries most exposed to the risk of landslides,' the institute said, mentioning recent deadly natural disasters such as the 2022 landslide on the island of Ischia off Naples and the floods in Emilia-Romagna in 2023. The new AI assistant would help users navigate the existing IdroGEO public platform of maps and updated data on instability, providing information and answering questions, the institute said. — Reuters
Observer
3 days ago
- Observer
Portugal battles three large wildfires
CANELAS: More than 1,300 firefighters backed up by a dozen waterbombing planes battled three big wildfires in central and northern Portugal on Tuesday, with authorities putting most of the country on red alert for fires after weeks of hot weather. In the Arouca area, some 300 km north of Lisbon — where the largest of the fires has been raging since Monday -the civil protection service evacuated several dozen villagers from their homes and closed the scenic trails of Passadicos do Paiva, a popular tourist attraction. "It's desperate to see this ... we need help, we need air support," said Rafael Soares, a resident of the village of Canelas, recalling a devastating wildfire last September which burned 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of forest near Arouca. He blamed the fires on droughts linked to climate change that have left the area's forests bone-dry. Further north, a wildfire has been raging since Saturday in the Peneda-Geres national park near the Spanish border, enveloping nearby villages in thick smoke that led to orders for residents to stay at home on several occasions. Spain sent several waterbombing aircraft to help control the flames in the area. Three wildfires were raging in Spain's region of Castile and Leon early on Tuesday, the most severe one near Avila, about 100 km west of Madrid. People in the town of Mombeltran were ordered to remain inside due to the smoke. Hot and dry summers are common across the Mediterranean region, but more intense heatwaves have contributed to destructive wildfires in recent years amid fast-rising temperatures around the globe. Turkiye has suffered dozens of wildfires in recent weeks as temperatures have soared, and 10 firefighters were killed last week battling a blaze in the central Eskisehir province. At the weekend, several villages in Greece were evacuated and five people were injured in separate wildfires. — Reuters
Observer
19-07-2025
- Observer
Many die as Vietnam boat capsizes
HANOI: At least 27 people died after a tourist boat capsized in stormy weather in Vietnam's Halong Bay on Saturday, state media reported. The boat, carrying 53 people, tipped over at around 2 pm local time, as Storm Wipha approached the country across the South China Sea. Strong winds, heavy rainfall and lightning were reported in the area. Most of the tourists were from the capital, Hanoi, local newspaper VnExpress reported. There was no official announcement on the nationality of the tourists as emergency crews kept looking for survivors. Rescue teams found 11 survivors and recovered 27 bodies, eight of them children, the state-run Vietnam News Agency said, citing local authorities. Storm Wipha, the third typhoon to hit the South China Sea this year, is projected to make landfall along Vietnam's northern coast early next week. The weather linked to the storm also disrupted air travel. Noi Bai Airport said nine arriving flights were diverted to other airports, and three departing flights were temporarily grounded on Saturday. — Reuters
