Homes and hospital evacuated as a precaution in southern Turkey
Turkish authorities evacuated a dozen homes and a hospital as a precaution on Tuesday after a wildfire spread through some 120 hectares of forest near the Mediterranean resort town of Kemer in Antalya province.
Nuri Ersoy, the minister in charge of tourism and culture, said 10 Canadairs and 22 helicopters had been deployed to put out the fire. He added that the fire should be brought under control during the day.
In Greece, fires persist on the islands of Corfu, Rhodes and Euboea
Greek firefighters are still fighting the ongoing fires on the islands of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea (southeast), Corfu in the Ionian Sea (northwest) and Euboea, a large island east of Athens. Images of the Rhodes fires were taken by the European Copernicus satellite, as we develop in this article.
These forest fires, fueled by strong winds, have already destroyed thousands of hectares of forest and vegetation without causing any casualties at this stage.
Traffic still disrupted at Palermo airport after brief closure
Falcone Borsellino Airport Palermo was forced to close until 11 a.m. on Tuesday due to a forest fire that happened very close to the slopes. Several dozen flights have been cancelled, delayed or diverted.
If the airport was able to reopen at the end of the morning, “only a limited number of departing flights will be authorized”, warned the services of the platform. Rail transport is also affected by these fires, according to the local Civil Protection.
Major fires in Italy, Algeria and several Greek islands
Hello and welcome to all in this direct dedicated to the fires which strike this Tuesday several countries bordering the Mediterranean: Italy, Greece and Algeria.
The fires killed 34 people on Monday in northeastern Algeria. “Of 97 declared fires, only 15 remain,” the Civil Protection Information Officer announced on Tuesday.
In Italy, violent fires affect the island of Sicily, hit by a major heat wave. Flights were able to resume at Palermo airport after a short suspension. The flames also continue to ravage several Greek islands.
Source: BFM TV
