Heatwave, forest fires in Greece leave 11 dead
Pastor Dale Morgan
Heatwave, forest fires in Greece leave 11 dead*
ATHENS, June 28 (AFP) Jun 28, 2007
A heatwave believed to be the longest ever recorded in Greece has left
11 people dead over the past week including two killed in forest fires,
officials said on Thursday.
Although temperatures began to fall after a blistering nine-day spell in
which they reached 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit) in some
areas, the arrival of northerly winds fanned forest blazes.
The health ministry on Thursday said nine people had died from
heatstroke since Saturday, most of them elderly people with prior health
problems.
Also Thursday, the charred bodies of two men, aged 36 and 42, were found
in the central region of Agia Larissas where they had become trapped by
a blaze on Wednesday afternoon, the fire department said.
Two other men with them escaped. The four had been on their way home
after joining efforts to put out the blaze, which burned down one house
and continued to lay waste to surrounding forests on Thursday.
Thirty-four fire engines were battling the flames there.
Fires have reported from 120 sites across the country since Wednesday
morning, although most were extinguished, the fire service said.
Fire fighters were using five planes and a helicopter to combat a blaze
in the remote region of Dervenochoria, where they evacuated a camping
ground and helped four nuns leave a monastery. Four homes in the area
burned to the ground overnight to Thursday.
Strong winds prompted authorities in several regions, including in
Attiki in the south, Chalkidiki in the north and the Aegean islands, to
declare a state of emergency amid fears of spreading fires, and many
homes had to be evacuated.
Greece has appealed for help to the European Union, and France and Italy
sent two fire-fighting planes each.
Portugal also said it on Monday would send a plane to help battle the
forest fires.
The heatwave caused long blackouts in several Athens districts this week
as Greece's electricity grid worked overtime to handle an all-time high
demand for power, mainly for air-conditioning.
The temperature in Athens has dropped to 38-39 degrees Celsius from 43
degrees on Wednesday, and is expected to fall further on Friday.