Over 20,000 tourists in Greece evacuate due to forest fire

Southern European countries, including Greece and Italy, are experiencing extreme weather conditions. Tourists evacuated due to heat waves and heavy rain, which caused some casualties. The surface of the Mediterranean Sea reached the hottest temperature in 20 years.

According to Reuters, two pilots were killed when their plane fighting wildfires crashed on Tuesday afternoon on the island of Evia, east of Athens. The body of a stockbreeder was found burned on the island. Wildfires began on Sunday in Evia and are still not under control despite four fire-fighting planes and 100 firefighters’ efforts. Over 20,000 people, including tourists, fled to Rhodes Island due to the ongoing forest fire that began on July 18. About 2,500 people also evacuated to Corfu Island. According to the local media, about 35,000 hectares of forest in Greece were lost last week.

Two women died in northern Italy on Tuesday due to strong wind. As property damage of over 100 million euros is expected, it was reported that the Italian government will take emergency measures. Italian Minister for Civil Protection and Maritime Policies Nello Musumeci said that the Cabinet is ready to announce the state of emergency.


Eun-A Cho achim@donga.com