50 killed in Greece wildfires

[Yossarian]

Horrific stories are coming out of Mati, east of Athens, where wildfires have killed at least 50 people - dozens dead on land, and more in the sea where families fled to escape the flames, hard to imagine anything more terrifying.

And it's happening amid wildfires, floods, mudslides, and record-breaking temperatures all over the place - this is what climate change looks like.

Wildfires kill 'at least 50' in Greece

 

[cupid_stunt]

Just seen this on the telly news, very sad.

 

[SheilaNaGig]

There are record temperatures and wild fires above the Arctic Circle now too.

This is indeed what global climate change looks like.


Sweden wildfires rage up to Arctic Circle

 

[Sprocket.]

Terrible news. The sickening thing is that some forest fires are started deliberately by criminals so they can rob abandoned houses!
Were we stayed last year on Kefalonia in Ratzakli, was devastated by arsonists setting fires. Fortunately no one died, but some locals lost everything.
So very sad to see this again.

 

[SheilaNaGig]

Arsonists also set fires in order to devalue the plot/ land, buy it cheap and then develop it. Especially close to tourist zones.

A friend of mine has family who live so in the fire zone. She’s posting about some of her family having escaped in their nightclothes and they've now lost absolutely everything. Everything. They’re being given sanctuary with other family members who are trying to think of how to break the news to them that their house and everything in it has been entirely destroyed.

She’s also saying that there are lots of oil refineries in the area where this fire is raging. Kineta and Loutraki.



Friends in Portugal who lost homes and every living thing on their land last year are telling me how many thousands of trees they’ve lost, and how slowly the land is recovering for want of water. The entire area is struggling.

I’ve seen forests in Greece regenerate quite quickly, but only if there’s sufficient water, and no flash floods, in the years following a fire like this. That’s becoming less likely as climate changes takes hold.

 

[cupid_stunt]

According to Sky News, those confirmed dead are now 74, and expected to raise.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Read this this morning - it sounds horrific.

And yeah, its global warming.

 

[passenger]

Nasty stuff they must have been so terreified ,summers in Europe
seem to be geting hotter its very worrying

 

[lefteri]

Mati is a lovely place, I spent every school summer holiday in the next village and we used to go there to the cinema quite frequently - devastating

 

[Yogibear]

Mati is a lovely place, I spent every school summer holiday in the next village and we used to go there to the cinema quite frequently - devastating

Heartbreaking :-(

 

[cupid_stunt]

The death toll is now at least 74.

 

[Sprocket.]

Just heard toll is 79 and police have arrested some people in connection with the fires.

 

[cupid_stunt]

And, between 40 & 100 missing.

 

[Badgers]

Heard a quote from a mayor over there saying he has seen over 100 bodybags