FIRES AND STORMS TEAR ACROSS SOUTH EUROPE by Alex Deakin
The latest in a series of heatwaves to spread across southern Europe has brought raging fires to Portugal, Spain and France whilst severe storms lashed popular tourist resorts in Greece.
PORTUGAL PROBLEMS
Temperatures have been soaring on a daily basis, into the high 30s Celsius across many parts of Portugal recently. In addition, all of Portugal is in severe or extreme drought in the worst dry spell since 1945.
About 53,000 people are getting water from tank trucks, while in many areas, there are water conservation measures in force, the national water agency have said.
All the dry, hot weather has sparked off many scrub and forest fires across the north and central parts of the country where, according to the agriculture ministry, there have been 4,353 forest fires this year, almost two-thirds more than the average for the previous five years. So far this year, 68,000 hectares of forest and brush have been destroyed in the blazes.
Some 2,537 fire-fighters along with 400 soldiers have spent the weekend trying to contain 22 major forest fires from spreading any further.
SCALDED SPAIN
Neighbouring Spain has had very similar problems with the country experiencing its worst drought in half a century. The drought has caused severe problems for the farmers, with many crops failing. The EU has stepped in and begun sending food to the worst hit regions.
The mercury has been rising into the 40s for many southern regions, with Cordoba reaching a scorching 45 degrees Celsius (113F) on Sunday afternoon.
Fires have also spread across the country with hundreds of fire-fighters using water-dropping aircraft and bulldozers in an attempt to keep a forest fire from reaching Las Medulas, a natural park some 400km west of Madrid.
FIERY FRANCE
In France on Sunday, fire-fighters contained two large fires which had broken out in the south of the country which burned nearly 550 hectares south of Aix-en-Province. These forced the evacuation of hundreds of people. Thousands also had to be evacuated just east of Pradet in the Var region where the fire is now under control.
As the dry weather continues, the water authorities have imposed restriction across the southern provinces.
GRAUPELED GREECE
The heat in Greece has caused a different problem. The intense heat of the last week broke down after a huge amount of energy was pumped into the skies to produce massive thunderstorms.
Residents and holiday makers on the island of Thassos and the Kavala and Xanthi regions, on the mainland had to brave severe storms and strong easterly winds throughout the weekend.
On Sunday afternoon fire crews were still trying to retrieve 30 vehicles, which had been swept into the sea in Thassos after heavy rains and flooding. A miserable weekend became worse when traffic snarled up on the east of the island in the Kallihari region after a huge landslide blocked one of the major roads.
Severe damage was caused to many vineyards as a ferocious hailstorm swept its way across the northeastern Kavala region on Sunday.
It looks as though the warm weather will continue plague the south of Europe, but it does look as though things will quieten down over Greece.
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