ATHENS: Firefighters battled on Wednesday to extinguish the remnants of a wildfire near Athens that killed a woman, torched buildings, devoured woodland and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
Most of the fronts had eased three days after the inferno had first taken hold, but officials warned against complacency.
“The fire is still in progress. It has not been brought under control yet,” a fire brigade official said.
State inspectors started assessing damaged buildings as fire-stricken residents returned to their scorched properties, hoping to find some belongings amidst the debris.
Hundreds of firefighters assisted by 12 aircraft have been tackling the blaze since Sunday as it barreled from a forest off the town of Varnavas, 35 kilometers from the capital, into Athens’ northern suburbs.
Greece’s National Observatory said the fire had damaged around 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of land. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.
Greece is on high fire alert until Thursday, with temperatures forecast to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) raising concern about possible flare ups.
Wildfires have been a common feature of Greek summers for years, but climate change has brought hotter weather and less rain, heightening the risk.
The country, which has recently tightened penalties for arson, has dealt with over 3,500 fires since May, a nearly 50 percent increase from the same period in 2023 when it recorded 2,300 blazes, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a meeting about the latest blaze on Tuesday evening.
“We are trying to improve every year. But conditions are only becoming tougher,” he told ministers according to a government official.
Sunday’s fire broke rapidly across several fronts reaching within hours the seaside area of Nea Makri, the historic town of Marathon and suburbs on the slopes of Mount of Penteli, which is considered one of Athens’ last green lungs.
A woman was found dead inside a burned local business in the suburb of Vrilissia, about 10 km from central Athens, on Monday.
The government has announced compensation and relief measures for those impacted by the disaster.
Some experts said the fire had managed to spread so fast because of a phenomenon called spotting, where wind whirls transfer burning matter across long distances. That led to the constant creation of new fronts which later merged.
Greece tackles last of wildfire near Athens, assesses damage
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Greece tackles last of wildfire near Athens, assesses damage
- Most of the fronts had eased three days after the inferno had first taken hold, but officials warned against complacency
- Greece’s National Observatory said the fire had damaged around 10,000 hectares of land
Starting anew: Indonesians in disaster-struck Sumatra hold Christmas mass
- Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago
SOUTH TAPANULI: At a church in Sumatra, dozens of worshippers sang hymns at a Christmas mass, gathered together for their first service since deadly floods swept the Indonesian island.
The Angkola Protestant Church, in the hard-hit South Tapanuli district, was festooned on Wednesday with balloons and simple Christmas decorations.
Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.
Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago.
Churchgoer Krismanto Nainggolan said this year’s Christmas service was “different,” even as he noted joy in the bittersweet moment.
“The feelings are mixed. Every word of the pastor’s sermon made us want to cry,” he told AFP after the Christmas mass.
“But the spirit of Christmas... gave us strength,” he added.
Krismanto lost his house in the flooding, while many of his neighbors were killed.
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, 1,129 people died, and more than 170 others are still missing.
While the annual monsoon season often brings heavy rain to Indonesia, this month’s deluge was among the worst disasters to strike Sumatra since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami in 2004.
In South Tapanuli, churchgoer Mea Rosmawati Zebua said she had not expected to be able to celebrate Christmas this year.
“In past years, Christmas was a routine. Now, (we are) very grateful because God still gives us the breath of life,” the 54-year-old told AFP.
While Christmas mass is typically held in the evening, the Angkola church moved its service to Wednesday afternoon ahead of rain forecast in the evening, pastor Yansen Roberto Ritonga said.
To prepare for the first service since the disaster, the church had to remove towering heaps of mud that had been washed inside.
Soldiers and police had helped clear the debris and driftwood.
On Wednesday afternoon, a man rang the church’s bell before the pastor’s entrance, marking the start of the mass.
Around 30 worshippers, each of them holding a lit candle, sung Christmas hymns.
Yansen said this year’s Christmas served as a moment of “reflection” for the congregation.
Churchgoer Krismanto said that despite the widespread damage and the personal cost of the disaster, he chose to see it as a new beginning.
“Our hopes depend solely on God because we are now starting over... our lives are starting anew,” he said.
