In the midst of the strongest heat wave since 1987, Greece continues to fight the forest fires that are spreading in many parts of the country - and fears that another natural disaster is approaching.
Experts warn, especially on slopes, where hectares of forest have been burned or will still burn in the past few days, there is a risk of flooding in future heavy rains because there is no more vegetation that could absorb water.
Of course, this is still a concern for the future.
If temperatures continue to be high, rainfall would be the greatest blessing for Greece at the moment.
Michael Martens
Correspondent for Southeast European countries based in Vienna.
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In some of the northern suburbs of Athens, several thousand people had to leave their homes and apartments on Thursday and Friday by order of the government.
It could not be ruled out that the flames could spread to the places.
The suburb of Marathon, which is world-famous by name and located northeast of Athens, was also threatened by the flames.
Strong fire brigade forces and fire fighting planes tried to protect Marathon.
"A desperate situation"
The work was made more difficult because the wind also fed the fires. In part, it was firestorms sparked by the fires themselves, which carried the flames on, accelerated their spread and made them completely unpredictable. It is "a desperate situation", the fire is spreading "wherever it wants, when it wants, and nobody can stop it," the Greek news agency ANA quoted the mayor of the also affected municipality of Dorida in central Greece on Friday.
To the north of central Athens are some of the richest and most elegant residential areas in the Greek capital. The Kifisia quarter at the terminus of line 1 of the Athens light rail is one of the most expensive areas of the city with its villas and bungalows. As of Friday afternoon, Kifisia itself has not yet been directly threatened by the fires. But they know there that the place is not invulnerable. Most recently, forest fires had eaten up there in August 1981 and damaged the houses of the city's top ten thousand.
Another focus of this year's forest fires are the Peloponnese as well as Euboea, the house island of Athens, so to speak. More than six hundred people, residents as well as tourists, had to be rescued on Friday by ships from the beaches of the island to which they had fled. Similar scenes had already taken place on some coasts of the island in the days before. On Evia, in addition to large pine forests, more than 150 buildings were completely or partially victims of the flames. In several villages, the church bells rang stormy to urge residents to leave their homes. As in the north of Athens, the fires on the island began on Tuesday and have now spread to many stoves.
The government continues to focus on clearing areas that could be affected by the fires early and extensively. In a televised address on Thursday night, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized that the government was trying to save lives first and then houses and infrastructure. "Houses can be rebuilt, trees will grow back, but human losses cannot be made good," Mitsotakis said. He asked for understanding that the simultaneous protection of people and infrastructure could simply not be guaranteed in view of the extent of the fire.