The devastating forest fires in Greece this summer affected more than 150,000 hectares, including the Dadia National Park (north), Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis estimated Thursday, again attributing these disasters to “the climate crisis”.
Like several other countries around the Mediterranean, Greece is in the grip of fires, the most recent of which, which has been ravaging the Dadia forest for thirteen days in the department of Evros, bordering Turkey, has burned more than 81,000 hectares until here, said the European program Copernicus.
About 600 firefighters supported by ten planes and seven helicopters are fighting Thursday against this fire which broke out on August 19 in this dense forest made up of pines and oaks and habitat or place of hibernation of raptors, protected by the European network of Natura 2000.
The European Commission recently sent 11 planes and a helicopter, along with 407 firefighters, to help Greece fight the “largest fire ever recorded in the EU”.
Another fire started last week at Mount Parnès near Athens has so far burned more than 6,000 hectares, according to Copernicus, and firefighters are still on the warpath in this region where outbreaks remain active.
In July, when Greece was hit by a prolonged heat wave with temperatures reaching 46 degrees Celsius in the south of its territory, multiple forest fires broke out, the most serious of which were on the tourist islands of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea. (east) and Corfu in the Ionian Sea (north-west).
According to data provided by Copernicus, more than 50,000 hectares had then been affected on these islands by the flames which led to the evacuation of thousands of holidaymakers and villagers.
“Why have so many areas been burnt this summer in Greece?” Asked the head of government on Thursday during a debate in Parliament on these disasters, stressing that, according to initial estimates, “the damage is significant” and that more than 150,000 hectares have been affected.
Forest fires have claimed at least 25 lives since the start of the summer, including 20 suspected migrants whose charred bodies were discovered near Alexandroupolis, the capital of the Evros region, named after a river marking the Greek-Turkish border and common passage of migrants trying to cross to Europe.
Parliament observed a minute’s silence at the start of the debate in memory of those who perished.
Experts speak of an “ecological disaster” and economic evoking the consequences of forest fires in the region of Evros, one of the poorest in Greece.
Facing strong criticism from left-wing opposition parties who denounce a lack of coordination by the competent authorities in the fight against the fires, Mr Mitsotakis recalled that Greece had been hit by “extreme conditions” due to “ the climate crisis” and “megafires”.
There were “extremely unusual winds in Evros”, “small outbreaks that took on nightmarish dimensions”, explained the Prime Minister, stressing that “there are weeks in the summer with more than 500 fires” and that the country has repeatedly been “at the highest level of alert in many areas”.
Recalling the devastating fires of 2021 during which more than 100,000 hectares went up in smoke, especially on the island of Euboea near Athens, Syriza (left), the main opposition party, judged that Mr. Mitsotakis, in power for four years, was “responsible for this unprecedented natural disaster”.
“After four years of governance, there is no time or space for apologies,” said Socratis Famellos, chairman of Syriza’s parliamentary group.
Mr. Mitsotakis promised compensation for farmers and people whose homes were damaged in the affected areas.
Measures for the reforestation of devastated areas and work to deal with floods were also announced on Tuesday by the government.
08/31/2023 16:29:55 – Athens (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
