More than 18,000 people in lockdown as wildfire rages in Catalonia
XERTA, Spain (Reuters) -Spanish authorities ordered more than 18,000 residents of the northeastern Tarragona province to remain indoors on Tuesday and several dozen were evacuated as a wildfire raged out of control, consuming almost 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of vegetation.
Large parts of Spain are on high alert for wildfires after the country experienced its hottest June on record. Two people died in a wildfire on July 1 in the region of Catalonia where Tarragona is located.
The latest fire broke out early on Monday in a remote area near the village of Pauls, where strong winds and rugged terrain have hampered firefighting efforts, authorities said. An emergency military unit was deployed early on Tuesday alongside more than 300 firefighters working in the area.
"Since midnight, firefighters have been battling the blaze with gusts of wind reaching up to 90 kilometres per hour (56 miles per hour)," Catalonia's regional firefighting service said, adding that the strong Mistral wind was expected to ease by the afternoon.
Overnight, fire engines raced the winding roads of the Pauls Mountains, surrounded by flames, as crews assessed and tried to contain the blaze.
In the neighbouring villages of Xerta and Aldover, residents spent a sleepless night as the flames threatened their homes.
"(There has been) a lot of fear and a lot of crying because we are already on the edge of the fire. Last night, because of the wind that was blowing the fire and the smoke, we couldn't leave our house. Terrible, this has never been seen before," Rosa Veleda, 76, told Reuters.
Authorities said they had prevented the fire from spreading across the Ebro River, which would have worsened the situation. Approximately 30% of the affected area lies within the Ports Natural Park, and officials are investigating the fire's origins.
(Writing and additional reporting by Emma PinedoEditing by Andrei Khalip and Gareth Jones)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
1.3m flood wave reaches Japan following 8.8-quake off Russia
People take shelter at a temporary tsunami evacuation site in Kushiro, Hokkaido, in northern Japan. - Photo: Reuters TOKYO: (Bernama-dpa) A tidal wave more than one metre high has reached Japan's Pacific coast, local media said on Wednesday (July 30), hours after a powerful undersea earthquake struck off Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka peninsula, German Press Agency (dpa) reported. A 1.3-metre wave was registered in a port in the north-eastern prefecture of Iwate, local media reported. Tidal waves of up to 80 centimetres were observed on the coast of other prefectures, it said. Authorities in Japan have issued warnings of a tsunami up to three metres high in the wake of the earthquake which struck at 2324 GMT on Tuesday about 136 kilometres south-east of the Kamchatka Peninsula at a depth of around 20 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS had initially reported the magnitude as 8. Sometimes a tsunami is preceded by a number of smaller flood waves. Japan's national meteorological agency called on residents to move to higher ground or evacuation buildings, asking them to stay there for the time being despite the enormous summer heat. A record temperature of 41.2 degrees Celsius was measured in Tamba in the Hyogo region to the north of Kyoto, on Wednesday, according to the meteorological authority. The tsunami warning could remain in force for another day or even longer, it said. According to a government spokesman, there have been no reports of casualties or damage so far. There were also no irregularities at nuclear power plants, he added. According to the USGS, the earthquake was the strongest worldwide since the Fukushima disaster in March 2011 and has only been surpassed by five earthquakes since measurements began. - Bernama-dpa
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Chile's coastal erosion could erase 10 beaches within a decade, scientists say
FILE PHOTO: People are seen the beach in Vina del Mar, Chile, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido/File Photo RENACA, Chile (Reuters) -Chile's central and southern coastlines are facing erosion that could cause at least 10 beaches to disappear within a decade, according to a team of scientists in the South American country, which stretches for several thousand km (miles) along the Pacific Ocean. "It will be very difficult for these beaches to survive the next 10 years," said Carolina Martinez, director of the Coastal Observatory at Universidad Catolica, in an interview this month on the Renaca beach near the popular coastal city of Vina del Mar. Her team has tracked erosion on 67 beaches, finding that 86% are steadily shrinking — even during spring and summer, when they typically recover. Ten in particular, which already had high erosion in 2023, have continued to rapidly lose ground, with rates now about twice as high. The causes are both natural and human-made, Martinez said. She pointed to intense and increasingly frequent swells driven by climate change, along with rising sea levels, sudden downpours, and heat waves, as key factors. Unchecked urbanization and the degradation of river basins that supply sand to the coast have also contributed. In Puerto Saavedra, in the southern region of Araucania, storm surges have carved sinkholes into roads and cliffs, cutting off access to some communities. The saltwater is damaging forests, too. "We're seeing cliffs and sandy shores retreating rapidly," Martínez said. Some local businesses in popular tourist towns are already feeling the impact. "Last year was brutal … the beach disappeared," said Maria Harris, who owns a beachfront restaurant in Valparaiso. "There was no space between us and the sea." Despite the risks, construction continues along the coastline, often near wetlands and dunes. Martinez warned that the impacts go beyond the environment. "We're transferring the cost of these disasters to people —fishermen, coastal communities, and the tourism sector," she said. (Reporting by Nicolas Cortes and Carolina Fernandez; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon and Lucinda Elliott; Editing by Sandra Maler)
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- New Straits Times
Portugal battles to contain wildfires
LISBON: Almost 2,700 firefighters battled Tuesday to contain forest blazes across Portugal that have led to almost the whole country being put on high alert for fires. Seventeen major fires blazed with the most serious in the centre and north of the country. Some 750 firefighters sought to control a blaze in a eucalyptus forest in the Arouca municipality of central Portugal. "This is currently the fire on which we are concentrating all efforts and reinforcements," Mario Silvestre, head of the National Authority for Civil Protection, told a press conference. Hundreds more battled a blaze near the central town of Penamacor and one on a mountain at Ponte da Barca near the northern border with Spain. Four Spanish water carrying planes joined the effort on Monday. "We are experiencing a difficult moment," Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said after visiting the national emergency service headquarters. In all, 26 firefighting aircraft were in the air, civil protection officials said. Some 20 people, including 14 firefighters, were treated for minor injuries. The Ponte da Barca fire, which started on Saturday, forced the evacuation of some people to a local church and burnt nearly 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of land, according to preliminary estimates. Authorities said the fires could worsen in coming days because of the heat. "The only factor that we will be able to control in the coming days ... is human behaviour," said Silvestre. Like many countries, Portugal faces wildfires every summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of droughts and fires around the world.
