Latest news with #Androulakis
Daily Tribune
04-07-2025
- Climate
- Daily Tribune
Hundreds evacuated as Greece wildfire rages on Crete
A wildfire fanned by galeforce winds on the southern Greek island of Crete has forced the evacuation of residents and tourists, officials said yesterday. Hot dry weather in Greece, which is not unusual for this time of year, has heightened the risk of a repeat of the summer wildfires that have hit the country in recent years. Media reports said around 1,500 people had to be evacuated because of the blaze, which broke out on Wednesday evening. 'Evacuations took place in numerous hotels and tourists were safely transferred to a closed gymnasium in the municipality of Ierapetra,' vice-prefect Yannis Androulakis told TV channel Mega, referring to the holiday town in the southeast. The authorities acted because water bomber planes could not reach the affected areas overnight, he added. 'At the moment, there are three active fronts,' Androulakis said. 'Because of the strong winds, the fire has progressed quite rapidly.' Around 270 firefighters, 10 helicopters and drones have been deployed to tackle the blaze, said Vassilios Vathrakoyannis, a spokesman for the fire service. They include reinforcements sent in from the capital, Athens. 'There are still a number of different fronts. The fire is burning scrubland and crops,' he said. 'The winds are very strong -- up to nine on the Beaufort scale.' - Uneven, arid terrain - Crete, Greece's largest island, has an arid, uneven landscape criss-crossed by gullies, making it difficult for firefighters to tackle the blaze.
Al-Ahram Weekly
03-07-2025
- Climate
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Hundreds evacuated as Greece wildfire rages on Crete - International
A wildfire fanned by gale-force winds on the southern Greek island of Crete has forced the evacuation of locals and tourists, officials said on Thursday. Greece is sweltering in a heatwave that is searing much of southern Europe. The country has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to summer wildfires, which are fuelled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change. Local media said around 1,500 people had to be evacuated because of the blaze, which broke out on Wednesday evening. "Evacuations took place in numerous hotels and tourists were safely transferred to a closed gymnasium in the municipality of Ierapetra," vice-prefect Yannis Androulakis told TV channel Mega, referring to the holiday town in the southeast. He said the authorities acted because water bomber planes could not reach the affected areas overnight. "At the moment, there are three active fronts," Androulakis said. "Because of the strong winds, the fire has progressed quite rapidly." Around 270 firefighters, 10 helicopters and drones have been deployed to tackle the blaze, said Vassilios Vathrakoyannis, a spokesman for the fire service. They include reinforcements sent in from the capital, Athens. "There are still a number of different fronts. The fire is burning scrubland and crops," he said. "The winds are very strong -- up to nine on the Beaufort scale." Uneven, arid terrain Crete, Greece's largest island, has an arid, uneven landscape criss-crossed by gullies, making it difficult for firefighters to tackle the blaze. The fire has damaged both houses and crops in fruit and vegetable greenhouses, local media said. Like the rest of Crete, Ierapetra -- a seaside resort with a population of 23,000 -- takes in thousands of tourists in the summer. Vathrakoyannis said the authorities would assess the extent of the damage once the fire had been brought under control. He stressed the risk of fires was "considerable" in July, the hottest month of the year in Greece. Until now, Greece had been more or less spared the heatwave that has gripped other parts of southern Europe. The country recorded its hottest ever summer last year when 45,000 hectares were torched, according to WWF Greece and the Athens National Observatory. In terms of surface area destroyed, 2023 was the worst on record. Nearly 175,000 hectares were obliterated and 20 people died during a series of prolonged heatwaves when temperatures rose in places to 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit). Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Int'l Business Times
03-07-2025
- Climate
- Int'l Business Times
Hundreds Evacuated As Greece Wildfire Rages On Crete
A wildfire fanned by gale-force winds on the southern Greek island of Crete has forced the evacuation of locals and tourists, officials said on Thursday. Greece is sweltering in a heatwave that is searing much of southern Europe. The country has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to summer wildfires, which are fuelled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change. Local media said around 1,500 people had to be evacuated because of the blaze, which broke out on Wednesday evening. "Evacuations took place in numerous hotels and tourists were safely transferred to a closed gymnasium in the municipality of Ierapetra," vice-prefect Yannis Androulakis told TV channel Mega, referring to the holiday town in the southeast. He said the authorities acted because water bomber planes could not reach the affected areas overnight. "At the moment, there are three active fronts," Androulakis said. "Because of the strong winds, the fire has progressed quite rapidly." Around 270 firefighters, 10 helicopters and drones have been deployed to tackle the blaze, said Vassilios Vathrakoyannis, a spokesman for the fire service. They include reinforcements sent in from the capital, Athens. "There are still a number of different fronts. The fire is burning scrubland and crops," he said. "The winds are very strong -- up to nine on the Beaufort scale." Crete, Greece's largest island, has an arid, uneven landscape criss-crossed by gullies, making it difficult for firefighters to tackle the blaze. The fire has damaged both houses and crops in fruit and vegetable greenhouses, local media said. Like the rest of Crete, Ierapetra -- a seaside resort with a population of 23,000 -- takes in thousands of tourists in the summer. Vathrakoyannis said the authorities would assess the extent of the damage once the fire had been brought under control. He stressed the risk of fires was "considerable" in July, the hottest month of the year in Greece. Until now, Greece had been more or less spared the heatwave that has gripped other parts of southern Europe. The country recorded its hottest ever summer last year when 45,000 hectares were torched, according to WWF Greece and the Athens National Observatory. In terms of surface area destroyed, 2023 was the worst on record. Nearly 175,000 hectares were obliterated and 20 people died during a series of prolonged heatwaves when temperatures rose in places to 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit). Helicopters dropped water on a wildfire in Ierapetra AFP Greece recorded its hottest ever summer last year when 45,000 hectares were torched AFP
France 24
03-07-2025
- Climate
- France 24
Hundreds evacuated as Greece wildfire rages on Crete
Greece is sweltering in a heatwave that is searing much of southern Europe. The country has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to summer wildfires, which are fuelled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change. Local media said around 1,500 people had to be evacuated because of the blaze, which broke out on Wednesday evening. "Evacuations took place in numerous hotels and tourists were safely transferred to a closed gymnasium in the municipality of Ierapetra," vice-prefect Yannis Androulakis told TV channel Mega, referring to the holiday town in the southeast. He said the authorities acted because water bomber planes could not reach the affected areas overnight. "At the moment, there are three active fronts," Androulakis said. "Because of the strong winds, the fire has progressed quite rapidly." Around 270 firefighters, 10 helicopters and drones have been deployed to tackle the blaze, said Vassilios Vathrakoyannis, a spokesman for the fire service. They include reinforcements sent in from the capital, Athens. "There are still a number of different fronts. The fire is burning scrubland and crops," he said. "The winds are very strong -- up to nine on the Beaufort scale." - Uneven, arid terrain - Crete, Greece's largest island, has an arid, uneven landscape criss-crossed by gullies, making it difficult for firefighters to tackle the blaze. The fire has damaged both houses and crops in fruit and vegetable greenhouses, local media said. Like the rest of Crete, Ierapetra –- a seaside resort with a population of 23,000 -- takes in thousands of tourists in the summer. Vathrakoyannis said the authorities would assess the extent of the damage once the fire had been brought under control. He stressed the risk of fires was "considerable" in July, the hottest month of the year in Greece. Until now, Greece had been more or less spared the heatwave that has gripped other parts of southern Europe. The country recorded its hottest ever summer last year when 45,000 hectares were torched, according to WWF Greece and the Athens National Observatory. In terms of surface area destroyed, 2023 was the worst on record. Nearly 175,000 hectares were obliterated and 20 people died during a series of prolonged heatwaves when temperatures rose in places to 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit).
RTÉ News
03-07-2025
- Climate
- RTÉ News
Major wildfire sparks evacuations in Crete
A forest fire fanned by gale-force winds in the Greek holiday island of Crete led to the evacuation of locals and tourists, officials have said. Greece is in the midst of a heatwave that is searing large chunks of Europe. It has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to summer fires fuelled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change. Local media said around 1,500 people had to be evacuated following the blaze, which broke out yesterday evening. "Evacuations took place in numerous hotels and tourists were safely transferred to a closed gymnasium in the municipality of Ierapetra," said vice-prefect Yannis Androulakis, referring to a city in the southeast. "At the moment, there are three active fronts. Due to the strong winds, the fire has progressed quite rapidly," Mr Androulakis said. Around 270 firefighters, 10 helicopters and drones have been deployed to fight the fire near the city of Ierapetra, said Vassilios Vathrakoyannis, a spokesman for the firefighting service. "There are still a number of different fronts... The winds are very strong - up nine on the Beaufort scale," he said. Europe gripped by heatwave The heatwave across Europe this week broke high temperature records, caused the closure of schools and increased the risk of fire. Authorities in Spain's Catalonia region on Tuesday confined about 14,000 people to their homes due to two wildfires that broke out almost simultaneously in the province of Lerida. In one of the blazes, near the city of Cosco, "two people were found lifeless by firefighters", the fire and emergency service said in a statement. The exact cause of the fire was unclear, but the service said the recent heat, dry conditions and strong winds caused by storms had increased the intensity of the flames. Hours earlier, police in the region had reported the death of a two-year-old boy after he was left in a parked car in the sun for several hours. Spain is in the midst of an intense heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 40C in many places and several heat records set for the month of June. One person died in the southern city of Cordoba and another in Barcelona, both while doing road work on Saturday and likely victims of heatstroke. According to scientists, extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and storms, are becoming more intense due to man-made climate change.
