Greece: EU Announces Aid to Fight Wild Fires
European Civil Protection Team, Aug 13, 2024 Photo: @EurasiaNewsNet
August 13, 2024 Hour: 5:22 pm
More than 700 firefighters, 200 trucks, 17 aircraft and 15 helicopter tankers deployed in areas north of Athens on Tuesday.
Amid high temperatures and strong winds, hundreds of firefighters from Greece deployed on Tuesday to fight a large-scale fire north of Athens (capital) while waiting for reinforcements from other European nations.
Related:
Greece: Authorities Ask For International Help Amid the Wild Fires in the Country
According to press reports, during this day more than 700 firefighters, 200 trucks, 17 aircraft and 15 helicopter tankers were activated.
On Monday, the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, announced that for the moment two planes from Italy, a helicopter from France and fire crews from Czech and Romanian will be sent to the Hellenic nation.
Fire-fighters were deployed in the urban areas of Vrilisia and Jalandri, near Athens, as well as in the localities of Nea Penteli and Paliá Penteli. In all of them, numerous homes, businesses and cars are reported to be burned. So far, some 10,000 hectares have been burned, according to the European Union’s Monitoring Service.
The charred body of a woman was found in a factory in Vrilisia. It is assumed that he is of Moldovan origin and around 60 years old, but his identity has not yet been confirmed by the condition of the body.
Two firefighters were reported burned, one of them in critical condition. Due to the rapid spread of the flames, more than 50,000 people had to be evacuated, in addition to patients from three hospitals and children in children’s camps.
During the early hours of Monday to Tuesday, police rescued about 250 people who were trapped in the affected areas. Most of them were in their homes.
Experts say that the situation on the ground is better this Tuesday, as there is no longer talk of an active front, but hundreds of scattered and smaller spots. However, they urged not to lower your guard as temperatures are expected up to 38 degrees and winds with speed exceeding 39 km/h after noon.
The fire started on Sunday in areas of Lake Marathon, 40 km from Athens, and advanced rapidly south, reaching points located 13 km from the center of the capital.
In the face of criticism for slow and poor fire management, the Minister of Civil Protection, Vasilis Kikilias, noted that «the response time (…) was about five minutes by air and seven minutes by fire trucks» after the fire.
He added that the weather is bad. According to specialists of the Fire Department, neither help the morphology of the terrain and vegetation of the area, mainly composed of pine trees and holly, which burn quickly.
Meanwhile, the Government announced that it will provide an initial assistance of between 5,000 ($5,471) and 10,000 euros ($10,943) to owners of homes that have been partially or fully burned down. In the case of the affected companies, their owners will receive between 2,000 (2,188) and 4,000 euros (4,377).
This year, Greece experienced a winter with high temperatures. June and July were the hottest months since 1960, when the temperature index began to be documented.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: EFE
