objective information
Posted by Erik
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Erik
objective information August 23, 2006 08:15PM |
IP/Host: ---.access.telenet.be |
from the greek newspaper Kathimerini, english version, 23/08/2006:
[www.ekathimerini.com]
NEWS
Fire decimates trees, houses in Halkidiki
Cassandra blaze burns through night
NIKOLAS GIAKOUMIDIS/AP
Two tourists pass a scorched beach bar in the village of Hanioti in Halkidiki yesterday. Experts say it will take Cassandra at least 50 years to recover from the ecological disaster caused by the forest fire.
A forest fire devastated the area of Cassandra in Halkidiki, northern Greece, causing the deaths of two people and scorching some 5,000 hectares of scorched pine trees and at least 80 holiday homes yesterday.
The blaze broke out Monday afternoon but was fanned later in the day by high winds. More than 250 firefighters and soldiers tried to put out the flames but were hampered by the wind and dark of nightfall.
At its peak, the fire spread over 25 kilometers and ravaged the village resorts of Polichroni, Hanioti, Pefkohori, Nea Skioni and Kryopigi as thick black smoke covered the area.
The blaze forced thousands of tourists to flee their hotels for the local beaches, where more than 1,200 people boarded boats and coast guard vessels for safety. Others simply spent the night on the beach.
Authorities said that an unnamed 41-year-old German tourist drowned while trying to get his family onto a rubber dinghy. Another elderly man died of a heart attack but no details were made public. More than 50 people were taken to local hospitals with burns, injuries or breathing problems.
The fire continued to burn last night between Nea Skioni and Cassandrino, leaving authorities hoping for favorable weather overnight.
A state of emergency was declared in the area and arguments broke out about the readiness of the fire service to deal with the blaze. Forestry experts told Kathimerini that there was not enough planning to combat a fire of this scale. Halkidiki Prefect Argyris Lafazanis blamed it on a lack of finances.
Locals claimed the fire service reacted slowly as organized efforts to put out the blaze began just before midnight on Monday even though the fire broke out six hours earlier. The government said there had been no delay.
Meanwhile, another large fire was burning last night in Laconia in the southeast Peloponnese. Authorities said that at least 4,000 hectares of land, including crops and trees, had been burned, as well as dozens of homes.
A state of emergency was declared in the municipalities of Gytheion, Oitylo and eastern Mani as firefighters tried to contain the blaze on at least seven fronts.
[www.ekathimerini.com]
NEWS
Fire decimates trees, houses in Halkidiki
Cassandra blaze burns through night
NIKOLAS GIAKOUMIDIS/AP
Two tourists pass a scorched beach bar in the village of Hanioti in Halkidiki yesterday. Experts say it will take Cassandra at least 50 years to recover from the ecological disaster caused by the forest fire.
A forest fire devastated the area of Cassandra in Halkidiki, northern Greece, causing the deaths of two people and scorching some 5,000 hectares of scorched pine trees and at least 80 holiday homes yesterday.
The blaze broke out Monday afternoon but was fanned later in the day by high winds. More than 250 firefighters and soldiers tried to put out the flames but were hampered by the wind and dark of nightfall.
At its peak, the fire spread over 25 kilometers and ravaged the village resorts of Polichroni, Hanioti, Pefkohori, Nea Skioni and Kryopigi as thick black smoke covered the area.
The blaze forced thousands of tourists to flee their hotels for the local beaches, where more than 1,200 people boarded boats and coast guard vessels for safety. Others simply spent the night on the beach.
Authorities said that an unnamed 41-year-old German tourist drowned while trying to get his family onto a rubber dinghy. Another elderly man died of a heart attack but no details were made public. More than 50 people were taken to local hospitals with burns, injuries or breathing problems.
The fire continued to burn last night between Nea Skioni and Cassandrino, leaving authorities hoping for favorable weather overnight.
A state of emergency was declared in the area and arguments broke out about the readiness of the fire service to deal with the blaze. Forestry experts told Kathimerini that there was not enough planning to combat a fire of this scale. Halkidiki Prefect Argyris Lafazanis blamed it on a lack of finances.
Locals claimed the fire service reacted slowly as organized efforts to put out the blaze began just before midnight on Monday even though the fire broke out six hours earlier. The government said there had been no delay.
Meanwhile, another large fire was burning last night in Laconia in the southeast Peloponnese. Authorities said that at least 4,000 hectares of land, including crops and trees, had been burned, as well as dozens of homes.
A state of emergency was declared in the municipalities of Gytheion, Oitylo and eastern Mani as firefighters tried to contain the blaze on at least seven fronts.
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Erik
Re: objective information August 23, 2006 08:19PM |
IP/Host: ---.access.telenet.be |
and also:
[www.ana-mpa.gr]
Team of ministers to fire-ravaged Chalkidiki
A team of ministers will be visiting fire-ravaged Kassandra, the first finger of the Chalkidiki peninsula in northern Greece, to meet with local officials and decide on measures to be taken in the wake of the disaster, government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos announced on Wednesday.
Making up the government team are Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Tourism Minister Fani Palli-Petralia, Macedonia-Thrace Minister George Kalatzis, Deputy Agricultural Development Minister Alexandros Kontos, Deputy Health Minister Thanassis Yiannopoulos and Deputy Environment Minister Themistokles Xanthopoulos.
Roussopoulos also repeated that state services had not been lax or lacking in coordination in their response to the fire, while congratulating fire-fighters and ordinary citizens that had assisted in the battle against the blaze.
Regarding the country's fleet of fire-fighting aircraft, several of which were out of service for repairs and maintenance when the fire broke out, Roussopoulos confirmed that the public order ministry was concerned and had begun processes for renewal of the fleet.
A similar government team will also be visiting the other major fire that broke out during the height of the heatwave in Lakonia, the spokesman added.
As the fire raged on for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, firefighting efforts were now concentrated in an inaccessible forested area on the southwestern tip of Kassandra. The massive forest fire that broke out Monday afternoon has already devastated 40,000 stremma (10,000 acres) of virgin pine and fir forest and olive groves, while hundreds of firemen, backed by 75 fire engines, 20 water trucks and firefighting planes and helicopters continue to battle the flames.
According to firefighters, one of the fronts extinguished on Tuesday, between the villages of Mola Kalyva and Aghia Paraskevi, was rekindled at about 3:00 a.m. Wednesday as wind velocity increased once again, leading to the evacuation of two hotels in the area for precautionary reasons.
A strong land force succeeded in containing the fire, while four Canadair planes and two helicopters resumed water-dropping operations at the first light of day.
The front, which extended an estimated three kilometers, was constanty changing direction due to the wind, hampering the firefighting effort, but Fire Department officials were optimistic that the fire would be substantially contained during the day if wind velocity did not increase further.
[www.ana-mpa.gr]
Team of ministers to fire-ravaged Chalkidiki
A team of ministers will be visiting fire-ravaged Kassandra, the first finger of the Chalkidiki peninsula in northern Greece, to meet with local officials and decide on measures to be taken in the wake of the disaster, government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos announced on Wednesday.
Making up the government team are Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Tourism Minister Fani Palli-Petralia, Macedonia-Thrace Minister George Kalatzis, Deputy Agricultural Development Minister Alexandros Kontos, Deputy Health Minister Thanassis Yiannopoulos and Deputy Environment Minister Themistokles Xanthopoulos.
Roussopoulos also repeated that state services had not been lax or lacking in coordination in their response to the fire, while congratulating fire-fighters and ordinary citizens that had assisted in the battle against the blaze.
Regarding the country's fleet of fire-fighting aircraft, several of which were out of service for repairs and maintenance when the fire broke out, Roussopoulos confirmed that the public order ministry was concerned and had begun processes for renewal of the fleet.
A similar government team will also be visiting the other major fire that broke out during the height of the heatwave in Lakonia, the spokesman added.
As the fire raged on for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, firefighting efforts were now concentrated in an inaccessible forested area on the southwestern tip of Kassandra. The massive forest fire that broke out Monday afternoon has already devastated 40,000 stremma (10,000 acres) of virgin pine and fir forest and olive groves, while hundreds of firemen, backed by 75 fire engines, 20 water trucks and firefighting planes and helicopters continue to battle the flames.
According to firefighters, one of the fronts extinguished on Tuesday, between the villages of Mola Kalyva and Aghia Paraskevi, was rekindled at about 3:00 a.m. Wednesday as wind velocity increased once again, leading to the evacuation of two hotels in the area for precautionary reasons.
A strong land force succeeded in containing the fire, while four Canadair planes and two helicopters resumed water-dropping operations at the first light of day.
The front, which extended an estimated three kilometers, was constanty changing direction due to the wind, hampering the firefighting effort, but Fire Department officials were optimistic that the fire would be substantially contained during the day if wind velocity did not increase further.
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