Greece: 1 dead as wildfires bear down on Athens

Deutsche Welle

13 Aug 2024, 19:48

Photo: Alexandros Avramidis/REUTERS

Greece's National Observatory said on Tuesday that at least 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of land had been devastated after two days of wildfires that continued to rage. At least one person has died and dozens have been treated for injuries as tens of thousands of people flee their homes north of Athens.

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Dozens of evacuation orders were issued, after the blaze called Mount Pentelicus overlooking the capital.

The fire has already destroyed an unknown number of homes and businesses in Nea Penteli, Palaia Penteli, Patima Halandriou and Vrilissia.

Authorities said they found the badly burned body of a woman in her 60s in the ruins of a factory.

Blankets of black smoke could be seen over Athens, and residents reported several power outages.

There was hope however that Athens might be spared the worst of the disaster after strong winds that had pushed the blaze through the suburbs began to die down.

Moreover, Greece was expecting international help from fellow EU members such as France, Italy, and the Czech Republic to arrive later on Tuesday. Neighboring Turkey also said it would assist Greece's fleet of water-dropping aircraft.

The European Commission also announced that it was activating a system for European countries to assist not only Greece but also Albania, which is battling wildfires as well.

PM was slammed by the press
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was lambasted by the Greek press on Tuesday. The conservative leader was seen visiting the Civil Protection Ministry on Monday but has yet to comment on the disaster.

"Enough is enough," declared the front page of top-selling centrist daily Ta Nea, while the liberal Kathimerini said the "out of control" inferno "had left huge destruction (and) unanswered questions."

Pro-government daily Eleftheros Typos decried the situation as a "nightmare."

Mitsotakis will chair a Cabinet meeting later on Tuesday, after which he is expected to announce a series of relief measures for those who have lost their homes or property in the fires.

Firefighters 'working full tilt for months'
Fire Department spokesperson Colonel Vassileios Vathrakogiannis said hundreds of firefighters were no longer battling a single fire but "many active localized blazes," mostly around Marathon and Pendeli.

The most recent fires come after an unusually warm winter in Greece, and record-setting heat in June and July.

"Firefighters have been working at full tilt for months," said Nikos Lavranos, head of Greece's main firefighters' union. "They are exhausted."

Scientists have warned that man-made climate breakdown will increase the number and intensity of wildfires during dry periods. Last year, 28 people died and 75 were injured in some 80 wildfires that swept the popular tourist island of Rhodes.

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