realisticFires have erupted by the hundreds in Greece and Turkey over the past week, destroying homes and businesses and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate.
For a week, Greece suffered its worst heatwave in three decades violent firesAs a result, two people were killed and dozens injured. Firefighters, Tuesday, August 10, for the eighth day in a row, are battling the giant blaze of the island of Evia, 200 kilometers from Athens, as the flames are besieging villages one by one. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and more than 2,700 people were forced to evacuate the island by sea.
More than five hundred fires have been reported across the country, forcing thousands to evacuate dozens of villages, amid anger over slow government action. In Athens, authorities began assessing the damage caused by the fires that hit several residential suburbs north of the capital last week, before waning on Saturday.
For its part, neighboring Turkey is experiencing a lull after being ravaged by the most devastating forest fires in its modern history.
Residents of the island of Evia set up garden hoses near the village of Guf on August 8. Reuters A firefighting helicopter fills water tanks along Pefki Beach on the island of Evia as vacationers watch August 9, 2021. PETROS KARADJIAS / AP During the fire on the island of Evia, Greece on August 8, 2021. ALEXANDROS AVRAMIDIS / REUTERS Residents clear their cattle in Therakomacdonis, north of Athens, August 7, 2021. Giorgos Motaphis/Reuters In Chalcis, on the island of Eboia, residents who have been evacuated from their villages are housed in a building provided to them by the municipality, on August 7, 2021. THODORIS NIKOLAOU / AP Satellite image of the island of Evia during the fire, August 7, 2021. PLANET LABS / AFP A tree burns near the village of Pefki, on the island of Evia, August 9, 2021. ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP Villagers help firefighters carry water supply hoses to fight a fire, in Agios Stefanos, north of Athens, August 6, 2021. Tanasi Stavrakis/Associated Press Residents of Limni, on the island of Evia, are evacuated by ferry on August 6, 2021. Nicholas Economou/Reuters In a burning house, in Castres, on the island of Evia, on August 9, 2021. MICHAEL VARAKLAS / AP Firefighters take a break in Avidence, north of Athens, August 6, 2021. Luisa Golyamaki/AFP Residents of Pefki, on the island of Evia, sleep in their car after leaving their village under fire, August 8, 2021. ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP A forest in Thrakomakedones, north of Athens, August 7, 2021. ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP Residents monitor the progress of the fire in Kamatriades, on the island of Evia, August 9, 2021. ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP A stork injured in the fires is taken to the Humane Society Anima shelter, in Athens, August 8, 2021. Luisa Fradi/Reuters A burnt forest near Varympompi, on the outskirts of Athens, August 9, 2021. LOUIZA VRADI / REUTERS A man inspects the remains of his restaurant in Varybombi, a suburb of Athens, August 4, 2021. LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP In Athens, August 3. The smoke from the fires, which are at the gates of the capital, is clearly visible for a week now. AGGELOS BARAI / AP Also in Turkey, forest fires broke out at the beginning of August. Here, firefighters battle a blaze in Akakuka, Mugla Province, August 6, 2021. SERDAR GURBUZ / AFP The Coast Guard evacuated villagers in Mila, Turkey, as the fire threatens to destroy the Kemerkoy Thermal Power Plant on August 4, 2021. Yasin Akgül / AFP Aerial view taken in Mugla region, Turkey on August 7, 2021. This forest path was like a fire. Yassin Akgol / Agence France-Presse A volunteer rests in Akyaka, Mugla Province, Turkey, August 6, 2021. Yasin Akgül / AFP
