Tourist resorts evacuated as strong winds fan wildfire spreading across Greek island
The blaze, which started Wednesday afternoon near Lerapetra, is being fuelled by gale-force winds, making containment extremely difficult for emergency services.
The fast-moving fire has already destroyed homes and rental properties in settlements like Agia Fotia, leading to power cuts and road closures.
Firefighting efforts involving 155 firefighters, numerous engines, and air support are ongoing, with reinforcements arriving from the mainland to battle the flames.
Several people have been treated for smoke inhalation, and hospitals across Crete are on alert as the region, like other parts of Europe, experiences a heatwave.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Water restrictions across Europe as intense heatwave hits region
The Western Balkans is grappling with a severe drought, triggered by a relentless heatwave that has disrupted daily life and created issues with agriculture and power generation. Central Albania saw temperatures soar to 40C (104F) on Thursday, with meteorologists forecasting minimal rainfall until September. Rivers across the region are almost dry due to insufficient rainfall throughout the preceding winter and spring months. In response, Albanian authorities have initiated efforts to bolster local agriculture through enhanced irrigation networks. A significant project, completed on Tuesday, now diverts water from the northern Mat river to support approximately 4,000 hectares (9,885 acres) of farmland. The drought has also caused a negative impact on Albania 's power production, which is predominantly reliant on northern hydropower stations. This has caused the national power corporation to spend up to €60 million ($70 million) on energy imports during the first half of the year. Neighbouring Serbia faces similar challenges, with its state meteorological institute issuing warnings of "extreme drought" impacting national crops and causing significant drops in river and lake levels. Small towns and villages throughout Serbia also face restrictions on drinking water. In Kosovo, a water shortage closed an open-air pool in the capital of Pristina used by people to cool off in the summer heat. The Germia swimming pool on the city's outskirts was built in the late 1980s as a recreational destination and is considered one of the biggest on the continent. At this time last year the pool had between 4,000 and 5,000 visitors daily. Germia Park, renowned for its natural beauty and recreation, is located among hills and mountains that provide the pool's natural water resources. But this year, the pool's staff could not access the 20,000 cubic meters (5.3 million gallons) of water needed. In previous years, it has taken six days to fill the pool, but this year will take more than three weeks because of the drought, manager Bardh Krasniqi said. 'Due to the strong heatwave that is currently affecting the country and also the region, unfortunately we have not been able to open the largest pool in the country,' Krasniqi said. As the temperature was set to reach 35 C (95 F) Thursday, the Health Institute urged people to stay away from direct sun and warned children, elderly people and anyone who was ill to stay home. During the past week's heatwave in Europe scorching temperatures reached as high as 46.6 C (115.9F) in Mora, Portugal. Wildfires are frequent in the region during the hot, dry summers.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
More than 1,500 people evacuated in Crete amid wildfire as Europe heatwave continues
A wildfire fanned by gale-force winds has forced the evacuation of more than 1,500 people on the Greek island of Crete, officials have said, as large swathes of continental Europe baked in a punishing early summer heatwave linked to at least nine deaths. About 230 firefighters, along with 46 vehicles and helicopters, were battling the blaze on Thursday after it broke out 24 hours earlier near Ierapetra on the south-east coast of the country's largest island, threatening to engulf houses and hotels. A fire brigade spokesperson, Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, said: 'There are wind gusts in the area, some measuring 9 on the Beaufort scale, triggering rekindling and hindering firefighting efforts.' He added that four settlements had been evacuated. Residents and tourists were taking shelter at an indoor stadium and some had left Crete by boat, authorities said. Local media reported some homes had been damaged. An estimated 5,000 more holidaymakers left south-east Crete independently. Like the rest of Crete, Ierapetra – a seaside resort with a permanent population of 23,000 - takes in thousands of tourists in the summer. The island's arid, uneven landscape, criss-crossed by gullies, makes it hard for firefighters to tackle blazes. A separate fire was raging in the Halkidiki region of Greece, with 160 firefighters and 49 vehicles involved in the emergency response, while in Turkey, thousands of people fled blazes in Cesme and Odemis in the western coastal province of Izmir. An elderly man died in the blaze near Odimis, about 62 miles (100km) east of Izmir, in one of three villages evacuated in the area. 'The village was evacuated but an elderly, bedridden patient could not be saved,' a local MP told Turkish TV. Vathrakogiannis said the risk of destructive wildfires remained 'very considerable' in July, the hottest month of the year in Greece, although the country had largely escaped the heatwave still gripping other parts of southern and central Europe. Nearly 500 firefighters were battling wildfires in eastern Germany that severely injured two emergency workers and forced the evacuation of more than 100 people near Gohrischheide, on the border between the states of Saxony and Brandenburg. The blazes have burned through hundreds of hectares of heathland and were still not under control on Thursday, with firefighters unable to reach parts of them because they were on a former military training area with unexploded ammunition. The worst appeared to be over in France, with the south-east the last area set record temperatures of up to 36C, but parts of Spain, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Croatia were all forecast to hit the mid-30s on Thursday. Italian authorities issued red alerts on Thursday for 18 cities including Rome, Milan, Turin, Bologna, Genoa and Palermo, meaning that the heat is so intense that it poses a risk not just to the sick and elderly but the young and fit too. Rome also said temporary power blackouts were possible as power consumption surges from air conditioners. At least five people have died in the heatwave in Italy, including two, aged 75 and 60, on beaches in Sardinia. Temperatures on the island, where wildfires have been raging, have exceeded 40C in recent days. In Genoa, an 85-year-old man died of heart failure in hospital. A 47-year-old construction worker died near Bologna and a 53-year-old died woman in Palermo. A measure halting outdoor work, for example on construction sites and farms, during the hottest part of the day has taken effect nationwide, although it is not an obligation and many people are continuing to work their normal hours. In Spain, the media reported that the two victims of a wildfire that consumed more than 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) of mostly agricultural land in Torrefeta i Florejacs in Lleida province were aged 32 and 45, and had died of smoke inhalation. Temperatures in central Albania reached 40C on Thursday, and with little rain expected until September fears are rising for local agricultural output. Serbia's state meteorological institute also warned 'extreme drought' was already affecting crops. Scientists have said Europe's heatwaves have arrived earlier than usual this year, with temperatures surging by up to 10C in some regions as warming seas encourage the formation of a 'heat dome' over much of the land mass, trapping hot air.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
The remote earthquakes islands where no one has slept for weeks…as they've been hit by 900 terrifying tremors & counting
A REMOTE island chain has been rocked by more than 900 terrifying earthquakes in two weeks - forcing its residents to stay up all night. Tokara island chain in the south of Japan - a region prone to tremors - has been rattled by 1,031 quakes since June 21. 8 8 8 8 A 5.5 magnitude quake today struck near Akuseki - one of the 12 islands in the cluster - just a day after it recorded a jolt of the same size. Japanese authorities urged the 89 residents of a small southern island to evacuate after the tremors were felt. The quake hit at a depth of 12 miles, giving it a seismic intensity of "lower six" on Japan's 1-7 scale on Akuseki Island, the agency said. The intensity is classified as a level that makes it "difficult to remain standing", according to the agency. After all residents were confirmed safe, the evacuation instruction was later lifted. While no major damage has been reported, Tokara village said on its website that residents haven't been able to sleep and are tired. One resident told regional broadcaster MBC: "It feels like it's always shaking. "It's very scary to even fall asleep." Another resident added: "It's not clear when all this will end. I should think about whether to evacuate my kids." Seven of the 12 remote Tokara Islands are inhabited, with around 700 residents in total. A similar period of intense seismic activity in the Tokara area was seen in September 2023, when 346 earthquakes were recorded, according to the JMA. But their intensity and frequency were not as much as the slew of earthquakes that hit the region in the past two weeks. This series of tremors comes as the country as a whole has been kept on edge by rumours that a massive, deadly quake could soon hit. Ayataka Ebita from the Japan Meteorological Agency said: "In areas where the tremors were strong, there is an increased risk of collapsed houses and landslides. "Please be aware of earthquakes of similar magnitude for the foreseeable future." The government released a report saying much more needed to be done to prepare for such a megaquake. Some foreign tourists have held off coming to Japan due to unfounded fears fanned by social media that a major quake is imminent. Earthquake hotspot Japan is one of the most geologically active areas on Earth, marked by frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. The country's position at the intersection of four major tectonic plates — the Pacific Plate, the North American Plate, the Eurasian Plate, and the Philippine Sea Plate — makes it particularly prone to seismic activity. These plates are constantly shifting and colliding, creating subduction zones where one plate is forced beneath another. The frequent subduction of plates not only causes earthquakes but also triggers underwater fault movements that can displace large volumes of water, causing tsunamis. The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for about 18 per cent of the world's earthquakes. In 2011, a magnitude-9.0 quake triggered a tsunami that left 18,500 people dead or missing and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Another major earthquake, the 1995 Kobe earthquake, resulted in widespread destruction and the loss of over 6,000 lives. 8 8 8 Nearly 600 people died after a massive earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula in central Japan on New Year's Day in 2024. To mitigate the effects of these natural disasters, Japan has implemented advanced safety measures. Seismic-resistant buildings are designed to sway rather than collapse during earthquakes, while early warning systems detect seismic activity and provide residents with crucial seconds to prepare. Along the coast, tsunami defence systems, including sea walls and evacuation plans, aim to minimise casualties. Education programmes also play a key role in making sure that citizens are prepared for emergencies. 8
