Stormy Weather

Greece hit the headlines in August and September due to catastrophic events of biblical proportions. Extreme heat over an extended period of time had left much of the country as one huge tinderbox and, despite regular warnings, wildfires raged throughout the country.  

                               

One of the most tragic events was the huge swathes of the Natural Habitat Dadia Forest in Evros – Z’s home area – which continued burning for two entire weeks since the sheer size and very high winds made access extremely difficult. Clearly Forestry Commissions country-wide need to drastically up their management strategies to clear forests of extraneous vegetation, to clear safety corridors within forested areas to prevent flame spread, and to ensure access for firefighters and their vehicles and equipment.

According to the UN Environment Program, both climate change and land-use change will contribute to wildfires becoming a regular feature. Even more tragic and horrifying is data provided by Earth. Org which states that 89% of wildfires occur because of irresponsible human activities e.g. lighting campfires, using malfunctioning equipment, discarding lit cigarettes and committing arson.

In the first week of September, followed the huge storm Daniel, leaving woeful destruction in its path. The National Observatory of Athens registered over 17,000 lightning strikes in its duration.                                                  

And then, of course, came the deluges of rain, particularly in the Pelion area which was hit with a fall of around 103 mm. Bridges and roads were destroyed or rendered impassable. Houses and businesses were destroyed, people remained without power, supplies and, ironically, water for days. The region of Thessaly was very badly affected: over 700 square meters were damaged in what is a significant agricultural belt. Below we see the extent of the flooding where only rooftops can be seen above the flood waters.                                               

Valiant attempts were made to rescue people stranded on their roof-tops, by boat and airlift. In all 200,000 animals are said to have perished, their decomposing bodies posing a further health hazard. The country, its people and economy are left licking their wounds for a long time to come.

                                     

And we were not without some drama, though comparatively unimportant. Early one evening neighbours sounded the alert that a nearby field was on fire and we congregated there in haste, bearing buckets, hoses and branches to keep the flames at bay.

                                             

Fortunately, the fire-fighters arrived very shortly and put the fire out. Suspiciously there was a single hay bale in the field that was burning and this was a place which had recently burst into flames. The result of a local arsenist or problems generating from the overhead electrical wires? We may never know. What was greatly disturbing was to see how quickly the flames could spread in an almost empty field and in only light winds. All too easily this could have become a conflagration putting our homes and lives at risk.                                           

 As I explained to the neighbours, as new arrivals we were hoping they would extend to us a warm welcome, but that was just a tad over the top! :o  May we all stay safe!