Wildfires sweep through forests in drought-hit Syrian coast in major test for new government
Abdel Kafi Kayyal, director of civil defense in Lattakia province, said efforts to control the fires have been hampered by strong winds, rugged terrain and the danger of landmines left behind from years of war.
The fires come as Syria's new government tries to drive the country's recovery after more than a decade of war and crippling sanctions, with basic services non-existent in many parts of the country.
The fires have burned along a line of 20-kilometers (12 miles), cutting off roads and forcing thousands to flee their homes. They have also left some areas without power.
Drone video showed fires advancing along a broad front in rugged territory, occasionally flaring up as they encounter tinder-dry woodland.
'This fire is extremely difficult,' Kayyal told CNN on Saturday, adding that reinforcements have been called in from across the country.
The fires have now spread into parts of Tartous province, despite the efforts of more than 60 firefighting units.
Syrian authorities have appealed for international assistance. Turkey has sent two helicopters and 11 firefighting vehicles, and on Sunday Jordanian civil defense teams crossed the border to join efforts to contain the fires.
Satellite data from NASA's FIRMS service indicates the burned area now exceeds 180 square kilometers, an area larger than the capital, Damascus.
According to Syrian government figures from 2023, the country's forest cover stands at around 5,270 square kilometers, suggesting that these fires have consumed more than 3% of the country's total forested land in just three days.
The country is also in the grip of a long-running drought. The Carnegie Endowment Middle East program reported last year that the entire Euphrates Basin region, particularly the southern and eastern desert areas of Syria, had suffered from low rainfall and exceptionally high temperatures for four years.
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Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Will travel insurance cover wildfires in Europe? Here's what Brits need to check
Wildfires are raging across Spain, Portugal and Greece, threatening lives and disrupting travel. An intense heatwave continues to grip parts of southern Europe, fuelling dozens of wildfires and forcing thousands to evacuate their homes. Across Europe, at least three people have died and red alerts have so far been issued for parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and the Balkans. In Spain, forecasters say temperatures may reach 44°C in popular tourist cities such as Seville and Cordoba, with similar highs expected in southern Portugal. The extreme heat has triggered top-level weather alerts in parts of southern France and the western Balkans, which saw temperatures exceed 40°C on Monday. Where are the wildfires? In Spain, flames engulfed more than 1,000 hectares in the Tres Cantos region near Madrid after a fire broke out on Monday evening. Winds of over 70km/h pushed the fire close to homes and forced hundreds to flee before authorities brought the fire under control, but with more hot weather due this week emergency services are on red alert. Elsewhere in Spain, fires raged across Castile and Leon, Castile-La Mancha, Andalusia xtxand Galicia, with around 1,000 soldiers deployed nationwide to support firefighting efforts. Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated in Castile and Leon alone, where more than 30 blazes were reported, and a fire threatened Las Médulas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Andalusia, around 2,000 people were moved from homes and hotels near the coastal town of Tarifa, on the Mediterranean coast. In neighbouring Portugal, over 700 firefighters continued battling a major blaze in Trancoso, north-east of Lisbon. Portuguese authorities have been provided additional support from Morocco after Portuguese water bombers malfunctioned. 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They also encourages travellers to Greece to register for alerts from the Greek government's Emergency Communication Service. Sean Tipton, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) spokesman, told Yahoo News: 'Wildfires are a fact of life in the Mediterranean, but it is pretty rare for wildfires to affect tourist areas. "When they do happen they can be dangerous so its important to always follow the advice of local authorities to the letter. If they say you should evacuate, then you should do so.' Will my insurance pay out if I have to cancel my travel plans? If your holiday destination is in a region affected by wildfires, it's important to assess whether it's a good idea to go ahead with the trip or stay at home - and where you stand from an insurance perspective. The ABTA advises against uninsured travel, and purchasing travel insurance that is applicable to your trip is essential before you leave. If the FCDO has deemed your destination safe to travel and your flights, accommodation and transfers are all going ahead as scheduled, then you may be unlikely to get compensation if you decide to stay at home. Rhys Jones, travel insurance spokesperson, told Yahoo News that travellers should 'check the cover limits on their policy" and consider whether you want to add extra protections. 'If the Foreign Office is advising against travel to your holiday destination, then going ahead anyway could cause you problems - as travel insurers may refuse your claim if you've travelled against their recommendations,' said Mr Jones. "If wildfires or extreme weather do cause disruption to your trip, such as cancelled flights and delays, you'll usually be covered for this under a standard travel insurance policy - and the unpredictability of events like these is one reason it's so important to have travel insurance in place.' 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"As a rule, insurance firms won't make allowances for 'disinclination to travel.' "Instead, holidaymakers should wait until closer to the departure date to see if the holiday can go ahead or what flexible booking options are offered from the tour operator or airline. Travel companies will be prioritising anyone due to depart in the next couple of days."
News24
2 hours ago
- News24
Greece fights massive wildfire crisis as heatwave devastates southern Europe
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New York Times
5 hours ago
- New York Times
Southern Europe Battles Deadly Wildfires
Wildfires were raging on Wednesday in southern Europe, where thousands of firefighters were struggling to beat back flames fed by high winds and scorching heat. Extreme temperatures have gripped much of the region since Friday, fueling fires that had claimed at least two lives in recent days. On Wednesday, the toll continued to climb. At least four more people were confirmed dead from the blazes, which were burning in Spain, Greece, Turkey, Montenegro and Albania. Dozens of people, including firefighters, have been injured. The authorities in Greece have deployed nearly 5,000 firefighters and 62 aircraft, along with several Coast Guard vessels, and they warned on Wednesday of a 'very difficult' day ahead. 'A very high fire risk is predicted for most areas of the country,' Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis, the country's fire service spokesman, said in a Greek-language statement. He said that strong winds were blowing on the popular tourist island of Chios, where a fire had split into two fronts that were nearing residential areas. High winds were also complicating firefighting efforts in Preveza, a city on the western coast, and in Patras, in the northern part of the Peloponnese. Spain has also been hard hit by wildfires this week amid dangerous temperatures that have dried out vegetation across the region, making already arid places even more combustible. At least 14 active fires were burning on Wednesday, the minister of ecological transition, Sara Aagesen, said in an interview on Cadena SER radio. The country's national military emergency unit said in a post on X that at least 1,000 soldiers had been deployed to help fight the fires. Local officials said a 35-year-old volunteer had died fighting the fire in the region of Castilla y León, while seven other people were seriously injured and 8,200 had been evacuated in the region. At least 15 people were injured in the fires in Galicia, the regional emergency services said in a post on X. In Turkey, the interior minister said on Tuesday night that about 1,800 emergency workers and 19 aircraft were battling a blaze in the coastal city of Canakkale. On Wednesday, the government's chief spokesman, Burhanettin Duran, said that a man had been killed when a fire truck overturned. Casualties tied to wildfires were also reported in Montenegro, where the defense ministry said an army sergeant had died and another was seriously injured when the water tanker they were driving overturned, and in Albania, where the government said at least one person died.
