Emergency management

A total of 4,630 fire water ponds and pools have been constructed around several forested areas for quick water supply to intervene in wildfires more efficiently, the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry announced.

Blackened hulks of burned-out cars, the pavement streaked with melted and then rehardened chrome. Block after block of flattened homes and businesses. Incinerated telephone poles, and elevator shafts rising from ashy lots where apartment buildings once stood. A truck bed full of glass bottles, warped into surreal shapes by the furious heat.

More than 1,000 firefighters are battling a series of wildfires in Portugal as it and neighboring Spain experience several days of extreme summer heat, with temperatures in many areas rising above 40 degrees Celsius (104 F).

The FireHub service of the BEYOND operational unit at the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications, and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens (IADET/EAA) has documented the highest levels of burned areas from forest fires in the past thirteen years as of the end of July.

People who cause wildfires deliberately or through gross negligence will face stiffer fines and prison sentences under a legal amendment being prepared by the Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Ministry, Vassilis Kikilias has said.

A total of 62 forest fires broke out in a 24-hour period that lasted until Monday evening, with most being immediately dealt with at their initial stage, according to a statement by the Fire Service.

The Fire Service is also urging people to be particularly careful and, in case of fire, for their own safety to follow the instructions of the competent authorities.

Approximately 6,900 hectares of land have been reduced into ashes in 1,022 forest fires since the beginning of the year, with a significant portion of this damage occurring during the fires that took place between July 10 and 18, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has informed.

Wildfires that have scorched Greece for more than two weeks were on Saturday mostly under control, but firefighters remained in key hotspots with strong winds still a threat, officials said.

Three fires broke out on Saturday in the Peloponnese peninsula, with authorities protectively ordering the evacuation of four communities near the city of Pyrgos.

Beyond any inadequacies of the state in handling them, the intensity of the wildfires in Greece and the extent of the damage they caused, combined with the weather conditions, show that this is not a crisis that will simply pass.

The state of emergency declared in Rhodes on July 20 following the destructive wildfires that ravaged the island for more than 10 says was lifted on Saturday, the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection announced.

Residents and visitors received a notifications from the emergency number 112 to return safely to their places of residence.