Spain and Italy sent fire fighting aircraft to the forest fire on Evia after Greece submitted a request at the European Civil Protection on Tuesday European Commissioner Christos Stylianides who is visitng Athens on Wednesday estimated that according to his experience as Commissioner and the wildfires he saw in many …
Read More »Search Results for: Athens wildfires
Evia: Settlement, monastery evacuated, NATURA Narrow Forest on fire
The forest fire in central Evia seems to be out of control due to powerful winds blowing in the area. The thick smoke of burning pine trees have reached Attica and capital Athens. On fire is the narrow forest Dirfys protected by NATURA 2000. The fire is near three village …
Read More »Unstable weekend weather: Rain, thunderstorms, powerful winds
Weather will remain unstable over the weekend, with clouds, rain showers and local thunderstorms in several regions of Greece. At the same time, temperatures will remain high and strong North winds (meltemia) will blow in the Aegean Sea. Rain and thunderstorms are forecast in Thessaly, the Sporades islands, North Evia …
Read More »Greece’s Fire Service announces opening of firefighting season 2019
The Greek Fire Service has announced the opening of the firefighting season 2019. The firefighting season that in fact forbids the setting of fires outdoors runs from May 1 until October 31. Calling on citizens to avoid anything that would start a fire, the Fire Service published a list of …
Read More »Power column explodes like fireworks due to gale force winds in Attica (video)
It was short after 7 o’ clock Thursday evening, when a power column started to explode like fireworks. A resident immediately called the Fire Service as the area of East Attica still suffers from the painful and deadly wildfires in July. Powerful winds blowing with intensity of up to 9 …
Read More »ND boycotts state ERT over journalist’s statement against Mitsotakis
Greece’s main opposition party New Democracy has announced that its lawmakers will no longer appear on panels of the state broadcaster ERT. The decision comes just a few months after ruling party SYRIZA decided to boycott private SKAI TV for “one-sided propaganda against the government.” The decision was taken in …
Read More »Demolition of illegal buildings in Attica postponed to mid-September
Demolition of illegal buildings and constructions in Attica was supposed to start in the second week of August. The action was postponed towards the end of the month. However, the government stated on Monday that the demolition is expected to be launched in mid-September. The Ministry of Environment will call …
Read More »Two villages evacuated on Evia as wildfire rages on Sunday (videos)
Two villages and one monastery have been evacuated as a big wildfire has been raging on the island of Evia since the afternoon on Sunday. The fire broke out in a forest area unassailable to the Fire Service it was initially only aerial means set against the fire. As the …
Read More »Greece establishes new Emergency Response Service to deal with natural disasters
The General Secretariat for Greece’s Civil Protection is abolished and replaced by a new agency, the National Emergency Response Service. The radical change comes 18 days after the deadly wildfires in Athens with 93 people dead during which is Civil Protection was practically absent. The new public service will be …
Read More »Greece speeds up law to demolish illegal constructions in forests and coastline
The Greek government has submitted an amendment to speed up procedures for demolition of illegal buildings and constructions in forests and areas along the coastline. The amendment transfers the handling of illegal buildings from the decentralized local administration to the ministry of Environment and building inspectors. The amendment called “Urgent …
Read More »Body with burns spotted floating in sea off Glyfada – Fleves
A body floating in the sea was recovered on Tuesday morning near the islet of Fleves in the sea area of Glyfada in south Athens. The macabre finding was discovered by the owner of a private boat sailing from the marina in Glyfada to the island of Aegina at 8:30 …
Read More »One more body recovered in Mati, death toll increases to 92
One more body was recovered from the sea area in front of Kokkino Limanaki of Mati on Monday afternoon, a full week after the deadly blaze swept through East Attica, North-East of Greek capital Athens. Death toll has increased to 92 although there is no official confirmation. According to preliminary …
Read More »City Counselors in fire-stricken areas demand Mayor’s resignation
The Municipality Council of Marathon in East Attica is in uproar. The overwhelming majority of city counselors are calling for the resignation of mayor Ilias Psinakis whom they consider as “dangerous for people’s safety.” The fire-stricken village of Mati where dozens of people lost their lives in the wildfires of …
Read More »Greece needs new ‘response culture’ to avoid disasters during extreme phenomena
Greece needs a new ‘response culture’ to avoid disasters during extreme weather events a Greek scientist said with regards to the wildfires in Athens the cost the life of 91 people. “It is certain that in a 30-year cycle, every resident of eastern Attica and his property will come face …
Read More »Tsipras’ words mean little to fire-stricken Greeks standing on ashes, says …
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faced mounting criticism on Saturday after wildfires that killed at least 88 people plunged Greece into grief just as it was healing from years of painful bailouts. Survivors and political opponents accused Tsipras and his government of insensitivity for not apologizing for Greece’s deadliest blaze …
Read More »Breathtaking video of man risking life in flames to save his cat
This is one of the most shocking videos from the East Attica wildfires of last Monday (23. July 2018). A man tries to rescue his cat as the blaze is moving at a high speed towards his house in the settlement of Neos Voutzas. He has no chance to leave the …
Read More »Greece’s Clergy tells Bishop Amvrosios to finally “SHUT UP!”
That statement by Bishop Amvrosios that the “wildfires are God’s punishment for an atheist Prime Minister,” triggered an outrage not only among the Greek society but also among the Greek Orthodox clergy. A young priest in Kalamata, Peloponnese, urged Amvrosios to finally SHUT UP! In a post on his Facebook …
Read More »East Attica Fire info: Emergency Phone Numbers
Greek police has a list of Emergency phone numbers for people affected by the wildfires in Athens as wells as for relatives missing beloved ones. 112 European Emergency Number 100 Greek Police 166 Ambulance Service EKAV 199 Fire Service pic.twitter.com/KwObXCQzDw — Ελληνική Αστυνομία (@hellenicpolice) July 24, 2018 The Fire Service …
Read More »Civil Protection warns of Very High Fire Risk in several regions across Greece
The Greek Civil Protection has issued a fire warning for Monday, July 23rd 2018, drawing citizens’ attention to the high risk of fire outbreak due to high temperatures. In the statement issued Sunday noon, the Civil Protection said: There is a Very High Risk (Level 4) for the Prefecture of …
Read More »Death toll reaches 15, still 3 missing in floods. PM Tsipras declares ‘national mourning’
The drama in West Attica floods has no end. The bodies of more and more people who died in the floods have been recovered. The majority of them were elderly trapped in their homes, unable to escape the powerful force of the rushing waters bring mud and rubble from the …
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