In a merciless dance of nature's fury, the Mediterranean region is ablaze, wreaking havoc across Algeria, Italy, and Greece. Lives have been tragically lost, and thousands of people are being forced to evacuate their homes and seek safety elsewhere as wildfires encroach upon villages and idyllic holiday resorts. The situation is dire, with entire islands like Rhodes plunged into a state of emergency, while the flames continue to rage on Corfu and Evia. The relentless heatwave shows no mercy, with temperatures soaring to a scorching 44°C (111°F) in parts of Greece, leaving firefighters struggling to control the infernos amid high winds and parched vegetation. Algeria has borne the heaviest death toll, with 34 lives claimed, including ten valiant soldiers who found themselves surrounded by the relentless flames during an evacuation in the coastal province of Bejaia, east of Algiers. The province of Bejaia, with 23 deaths, has been hit the hardest.
Although Algerian authorities have managed to contain 80% of the fires since Sunday, the battle is far from over. A massive firefighting effort continues, involving approximately 8,000 personnel, hundreds of fire engines, and aircraft desperately attempting to douse the flames and establish firebreaks. Beyond Algeria's borders, neighbouring Tunisia has also experienced the wrath of the wildfires, necessitating the evacuation of 300 people from the coastal village of Melloula. Greece is grappling with its own crisis, with the Civil Protection Ministry sounding an alarm of "extreme danger" in six of the country's 13 regions. The island of Evia suffered a tragic loss when two pilots lost their lives as their firefighting plane crashed into a ravine, while a man's charred body was discovered in a remote rural shack. In Italy, contrasting extreme weather events have battered the nation.
Deadly storms ravaged the north, while wildfires struck Sicily and several southern regions. Tragic stories abound, like a couple in their 70s found lifeless in their fire-ravaged holiday home near Palermo, and an 88-year-old woman losing her life nearby. Cables burning in the heat reaching 47.6°C left parts of Catania without water and power. Calabria, on Italy's Adriatic coast, witnessed a 98-year-old man trapped by flames in his home, with his daughter and son-in-law sustaining burns as they tried to rescue him. A wildfire in Foggia forced the evacuation of 2,000 people from hotels and campsites, as it ominously approached Vieste from a nearby national park. As if the wildfires were not enough, severe storms in Italy's north claimed two lives as trees came crashing down. Tornadoes, hailstorms, and gale-force winds battered Lombardy and other northern regions, adding to the nation's woes.
Portugal and Croatia were not spared from the relentless heatwave's wrath. Portugal saw over 600 firefighters battling a fire near Cascais, while Croatia's southern city of Dubrovnik faced a wildfire that left destruction in its wake, even triggering undetonated landmines to explode. Meanwhile, on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, gales reaching up to 130km/h (80mph) stirred up fresh wildfires, putting three villages in harm's way for several tense hours. The Mediterranean region stands united in facing these formidable challenges, as communities join forces to combat the flames and support those who have lost their homes and livelihoods. In the midst of this crisis, the call for assistance extends to international allies, urging solidarity and cooperation in curbing the devastating impact of these wildfires fueled by an intense and prolonged heatwave, which climate scientists attribute in part to human-induced climate change.
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