Over 10,000 people have evacuated from Agios Stefanos, a suburb of Athens, Greece as a large wildfire approaches the outskirts of the city. Officials declared a state of emergency as fires pushed by strong winds burned for the third day.
Earlier two large children’s hospitals were forced to evacuate along with other outlying suburban areas.
From Sky News:
Alexios, a resident of the threatened Athens suburb of Dionysos, told of his scramble to leave his home on web messaging site Twitter.
“Signing off, the power’s out. Fires near Rodopoli (West of Dionysos) and approaching Rapendoza (just East of Dionysos),” he wrote on Saturday evening.
An hour later, he gave the update: “Evacuating Dionysos. Stuck in traffic with two terrrified dogs and hundreds of panicky drivers. Wish me luck.”
Fortunately Alexios was able to reach the city centre. He wrote an hour afterwards: “Escaped the evacuee convoy early, safely in Athens proper (dogs safe too).”
Those who have left their homes now face an anxious wait to see if the flames will engulf their homes.
Here is a video that shows some of the action. It is narrated in a British accent which adds to the drama.
(THE VIDEO IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE)
Here is another video. A portion of it is still photos without narration.
(THE VIDEO IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE)
European Union activates civil protection mechanism for Greece’s wildfires.
From China View:
BRUSSELS, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) — The European Commission said here Sunday that it has activated the Community Mechanism for Civil Protection following a spreading wildfires in Greece.
The decision was made by the request of Greece after extreme weather conditions fueled the spreading of the fires in the country, the commission said in a statement.
The wildfires continues to spread on Sunday in areas near Athens, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes.
Italy immediately sent two Canadair CL-415 amphibian water-bombing aircrafts to assist in putting out the fires, the statement said.
In addition, upon a request by the Monitoring and Information Center (MIC), France is ready to mobilize two Canadair CL-215 airplanes of the European tactical reserve of fire fighting aircraft (EUFFTR), which was established this summer to assist member states facing major fires.
Cyprus offered to send a fire fighting helicopter, according to the commission.
