Greece: firefighters "slowly take control" of the Evia fire

Forest fire in Gouves, on the island of Evia, on August 10.

AFP - ANGELOS TZORTZINIS

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3 min

Hundreds of firefighters continued in Greece on Wednesday to tackle huge forest fires in Greece, one of which has been raging for nine days on the Greek island of Evia, which left hundreds homeless and killed people. immense damage.

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With the help of foreign reinforcements, the Greek firefighters are still at work on the island of Evia and the Peloponnese peninsula, in the west of the country, in difficult terrain.

I think we can say "that we are 

slowly taking control on the fire front

 " of Evia, told public television ERT Yiannis Kontzias, the mayor of Istiaia, a town of 7,000 inhabitants. in the north of the island.

“ 

Yesterday we saw sunlight for the first time in days,

 ” he added, referring to the huge clouds of smoke covering the island.

►Also listen: Greece: the struggle of the inhabitants of the island of Evia

The situation was more precarious in the mountainous region of Gortynia, rich in dense forests and deep ravines, in the Peloponnese.

Three people died in the fires, which occurred during the worst heatwave in three decades in Greece.

Several countries, including members of the EU, sent in reinforcements 21 aircraft, 250 vehicles and more than 1,200 firefighters.

Hard blow to the economy

 Voices were raised to demand the resignation of senior officials responsible for relief, who again in June assured that the country was well prepared. The means were " 

better than ever before", but "we faced an operationally unique situation, with 586 fires in eight days during the worst weather phenomenon for 40 years

 ", the Deputy Minister of Protection was justified on Tuesday. civilian Nikos Hardalias.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis asked the Greeks for forgiveness on Monday August 9 for the “ 

possible errors

  ” of the State.

In addition to the destruction of hundreds of homes and a severe blow to the Greek forests, the local economy is devastated.

Faced with a "

 natural disaster of unprecedented proportions

 ", the Prime Minister announced the release of a global envelope of 500 million euros, which includes both emergency aid to residents victims of the fires, but also a reconstruction plan for disaster areas.

From July 29 to August 11, more than 600 hectares were ravaged by flames in this Mediterranean country hit in early August by an exceptional heat wave.

Some 2,330 hectares had burned on average over the same period between 2008 and 2020.

(

with AFP

)

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