Forest fires in Attica 2018

Region of forest fires in Greece 2018

Detailed map with the locations of the fires

Fire region of Kallitechnoupoli, Neos Voutzas, Kokkino Limanaki and Mati

Fire region at Kineta

The forest fires in Attica in 2018 affected three areas in the Greek region of Attica about 25 kilometers east and 30 kilometers west of Athens from July 23, 2018 . As of December 15, 2018, 100 confirmed fatalities and 170 injuries sustained.

In total, around 68 square kilometers of bushes, wooded areas and housing developments were destroyed. Particularly affected were the south Gerania MOUNTAINS the coastal town Kineta in the town of Megara in West Attica , as well as in East Attica Neos Voutzas , the coastal town of Mati town of Nea Makri and the district Kokkino Limanaki in the northern port city of Rafina . 26 bodies were recovered on a steep slope in the courtyard of a villa in Mati.

Disaster management

The governor of the Attica region, Rena Dourou , declared a state of emergency on East and West Attica on the afternoon of July 23, 2018. Also on the same evening, the Greek government applied for EU support through the EU civil protection mechanism . Italy and Romania sent four planes, and Cyprus firefighters from Spain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Malta and Montenegro, and there were offers of help in the form of fire-fighting planes, vehicles, medical personnel and firefighters. Then the Cypriot traveled EU - European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Christos Stylianides the same evening to Athens to meet with Greek civil protection authorities and to coordinate EU aid. In order to provide the authorities with highly specialized maps, the European Union's Copernicus earth observation program was activated.

The following countries have offered their help:

Albania Albania - Emergency aid of 100,000 euros
Australia Australia - support when needed
Armenia Armenia - support when needed
Bulgaria Bulgaria
Germany Germany
France France
Georgia Georgia
Israel Israel
Italy Italy - Two fire-fighting aircraft of the type Canadair CL-415
Croatia Croatia - Two fire-fighting aircraft of the type Canadair CL-415
Malta Malta
Macedonia 1995 Macedonia - emergency aid of 6,000,000 denars (around 100,000 euros)
Montenegro Montenegro
Austria Austria
Poland Poland - Two units of the state fire protection service were deployed to accompany the rescue and fire-fighting operation.
Portugal Portugal - offered assistance from 50 firefighters, in line with the framework of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism
Romania Romania - A C-27 J Spartan aircraft with fire fighting equipment and a C-130 Hercules for logistical support and 20 soldiers
Russia Russia
Serbia Serbia
Switzerland Switzerland
Spain Spain - Two Canadair CL-415 fire-fighting aircraft

Czech Republic

Turkey

Hungary

United States - monitoring of forest fires drones to erupting fire to locate quickly and fight.

Cyprus - fire trucks, staff and financial aid of 10,000,000 euros

Victim

On December 15, 2018, 100 deaths were confirmed, including 47 women, 42 men and 11 children (including one infant). The identity of two male victims could not be clarified because the people had not been reported missing. The youngest victim was six months old, the oldest 95 years old. Among the victims were 95 Greeks, a Polish woman with her child, 1 Irish , 1 Belgian and 1 Georgian .

In the days after the fire, the bodies of 83 burnt victims were recovered, who had been burned, suffocated, drowned while trying to escape the fire, or died. Originally, 187 injured were admitted to the local hospitals, including 164 adults and 23 children. Eleven patients were reported to be life threatening.

By August 14, the death toll rose almost daily to a total of 96 dead, as more injured people died in the hospitals. A 78-year-old man died on August 27, an 83-year-old woman three days later, a 26-year-old man on September 11, and a 73-year-old man on December 15, which resulted in 17 deaths in the hospital. On September 11th, 17 adults were hospitalized in hospitals, three of whom were intubated.

Theories on the cause of the fire

On July 26, 2018, the mayor of Pendeli municipality in Ostattika, Dimitris Stergiou, suggested that the fire at Mati was caused by a severed power cable.

On the same day, Deputy Minister for Civil Protection, Nikos Toskas, said that both fires were most likely caused by arson. With regard to the fire at Mati, there were testimonies that point to arson: "Here too there are not only indications, but also signs of arson," said Toskas. For reasons of tactical investigations, he initially did not provide any details. Furthermore, satellite images should show that the fire in West Attica near Kineta broke out in several places along a street within a short time.

On August 21, 2018, experts from the Greek fire brigade assumed that the fire east of Athens was caused by a local resident - he had burned dry branches on his property and then did not properly extinguish the fire. Strong winds would have fanned the embers and started the spread of the fire.

Statistical significance of the accident

It is the second worst forest fire accident ever recorded in Europe. The catastrophe is only exceeded by the forest fire at Kurscha-2 in what is now Ryazan Oblast in central Russia , which occurred on August 3, 1936 and claimed 1,200 lives . It is also the second worst forest fire in the 21st century after the 2009 Victoria bush fire . In addition, only five forest fires that claimed more lives occurred in the previous 100 years - besides the ones already mentioned, these were the Cloquet fire in 1918, the forest fire in the Great Hinggan Mountains in 1987 and the forest fires in Indonesia in 1997 .

After the forest fires in summer 2007 , it was the second serious forest fire disaster in Greece within a few years. At that time, 84 people died within several months, 67 of them in August of that year. Ostattika has been repeatedly affected by forest fires since the second half of the 20th century. The fires in 1995 (100 km²) and 1998 (75 km²) caused particularly severe damage to the Pendeli. In the forest fire year 2007, 10 km² were destroyed. In the area between Rafina, Kallitechnoupoli and Neos Voutzas, 10 km² were already burned in 2005.

Continue

On July 24, 2018, the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras proclaimed a three-day state mourning. At a crisis meeting in his cabinet on July 26, 2018, Tsipras assumed political responsibility, whereupon the opposition demanded his resignation. Basketball player Ioannis Gagaloudis called for a peaceful demonstration in memory of the victims of the fire in Mati in front of the Athens parliament on Syntagma Square . At the end of July 2018, the Board of Directors of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation decided to make a donation of 25 million euros to support the Greek fire service for prevention and training measures. Deputy Interior Minister and former Lieutenant General Nikolaos Toskas, responsible for civil protection, fire brigade and police, announced his resignation on August 3, 2018.

On August 7, 2018, Prime Minister Tsipras announced 20 direct measures to protect and control the built environment of Attica and Greece. Among other things, 3200 buildings are planned to be demolished in the Attica region, which were erected near the coast, in streams or in forest areas without a building permit. The controls of fences at a distance of 500 meters from the coastal area outside the construction plan will be strengthened and the demolition procedures accelerated. This is intended to implement a law passed in 1983 on the initiative of Antonis Tritsis .

Web links

Commons : Forest Fires in Greece 2018 - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c https://m.naftemporiki.gr/story/1424664

↑ ^a ^b ^c https://www.cnn.gr/news/ellada/story/146378/fotia-mati-stoys-99-oi-nekroi-ypekypse-mia-egkaymatias

↑ ^a ^b https://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/816754/alert-98-oi-nekroi-apo-ti-fotia-sto-mati/

↑ 97 deaths after forest fires in Greece South Tyrol Online , August 27, 2018

↑ ^a ^b ^c Φωτιά στο Μάτι: Στους 96 οι νεκροί - Πέθανε 68χρονος στο ΚΑΤ . Retrieved August 14, 2018.

↑ Copernicus EMS Rapid Mapping Activated for Forest Fires in Attika, Greece Earth observation program Copernicus European Union

↑ Giorgos Christides: Das Inferno by Mati Spiegel Online from July 25, 2018, accessed on July 26, 2018.

↑ Fires out of control in Greece - dozens die in flames in Athens Focus Online July 24, 2018, accessed July 26, 2018.

↑ Σε κατάσταση έκτακτης ανάγκης η Ανατολική και η Δυτική Αττική (Greek)

↑ EU increases aid to Greece to fight forest fires European Commission, 25 July 2018

↑ EU mobilises support following devastating fires in Greece, Sweden and Latvia. European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, July 24, 2018

^ The Copernicus Emergency Management Service Monitors Forest Fires in Attica, Greece , Copernicus Earth Observation Program, July 26, 2018

↑ Wildfires, Albanian Government Offers EUR 100,000 to Greece .

↑ Australia to help Greece in wildfires aftermath .

↑ Armenia ready to provide wildfire emergency assistance to Greece if requested .

↑ ^a ^b ^c EU mobilises further support against devastating fires in Greece .

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Jon Sharman: Greece wildfires latest: European countries send fire-fighting planes amid desperate attempts to stop deadly blazes spreading . In: The Independent .

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ποιες χώρες ανταποκρίθηκαν στις εκκλήσεις της Ελλάδας για βοήθεια .

↑ Israel offers aid to Greece as wildfires rage near Athens , Jpost Inc ..

^ 2 Italy Canadairs to leave for Greece .

^ The Latest: Desperate Greeks search for missing after fires .

↑ Greece wildfires: Polish president extends condolences .

↑ Portugal disponibilizou-se ajudar no combate a incêndios na Grécia (pt) .

↑ Porţile Infernului s-au deschis lângă Atena: incendiile au ucis cel puţin 74 de oameni .

↑ Putin offers Greece help in combating wildfires .

↑ Κύπρος και Ισπανία συνδράμουν την Ελλάδα - Έτοιμες να βοηθήσουν Τουρκία, Βουλγαρία, ρραυ γαρία .

↑ The Latest: Greece says Italian planes helping firefight .

↑ Φωτιά στην Αττική: Αμερικάνικα Drones συλλέγουν πληροφορίες .

↑ Οικονομική βοήθεια ύψους 10 εκ. ευρώ προς Ελλάδα από Κύπρο .