Five dead as heat fuels fires and floods in Southeast Europe
Wildfires driven by searing temperatures and strong winds ravaged Turkey and parts of Greece in recent days, leaving four people dead and forcing hundreds of residents and tourists to flee the flames.
Two fires broke out in Turkey’s western province of Bursa over the weekend, filling the skies of two major towns with smoke. Three volunteer firefighters died when their water tanker truck fell off a cliff, and another passed away from a heart attack, DHA news agency reported. Last week, 10 forest workers and rescue volunteers were killed while fighting wildfires in Turkey’s Eskisehir province.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will convene his cabinet on Monday to discuss Turkey’s response to the blazes. While wildfires have always affected the region, climate change is making them more common by causing hotter, drier and more fire-prone weather across Europe.
As the flames spread in Turkey, the southeastern town of Silopi hit a record-high 123 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday – the hottest ever in the country. More extreme heat is forecast for this week, according to the Turkish State Meteorological Service, which expects daily highs there to hit 118 through Thursday.
In Greece, thick smoke was visible Monday afternoon in downtown Athens as firefighters worked to contain wildfires in the suburb of Zografou and in the foothills of the Hymettus mountain range. Some roads were closed and authorities dispatched additional firefighters, air tankers and helicopters to help control the fires.
More than 100 wildfires broke out over the weekend, including near Athens and on the island of Kythira. Hundreds of residents and tourists were evacuated. Though the blazes were largely brought under control, a resurgence of a fire on Monday in Kythira prompted an evacuation order in two parts of the island.
Temperatures in Greece and the Mediterranean are expected to fall in early August, returning to normal for the season. Still, the wildfire risk remains high, especially in southern Greece, including Athens, the greater Attica region and Crete. In Athens, temperatures could hit 95 degrees on Tuesday, according to Greece’s national weather agency.
Further east, in Romania, officials have also issued red heat alerts and warned that temperatures there could reach 106 on Monday.
Intense heat in the southern part of the country also likely supercharged severe storms and flooding in northern Romania on Monday, according to Elena Mateescu, Director General of Romania’s National Meteorological Administration. At least one person died in the flooding, which damaged hundreds of homes and several roads.
—With assistance from Andra Timu.
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