by & nbspgavin Blackburn & nbspwith & nbspAP
It’s published
Greek firefighters raced Thursday to contain a wildfire that forced thousands to flee from a holiday resort in southern Crete, while neighbors tackled a deadly flame that claimed at least one life.
More than 5,000 tourists, hotel workers and residents have evacuated the Ierapetra area along Crete’s southern coast, officials and hotel association officials said.
A small number of people fled to the sea and were rescued by local fishermen and divers.
Ierapetra Mayor Manolis Frangoulis said firefighters are working to prevent firefighters from flaking before they are grounded.
“The fire has retreated a bit, but once the wind hits the flames again, a new fire will start and a catastrophe will continue,” he said.
Several homes and businesses have been damaged. Volunteers found dead livestock, some were chained inside the shed and burned alive.
Evacuated tourists were moved to other hotels and spent the night at an indoor basketball stadium.
Separately on Thursday, authorities ordered preventive evacuations from wildfires near the Port of Rafina, about 30 kilometres east of Athens.
Meanwhile, in western Turkey, firefighters have taken their first fatality in a series of wildfires that have extinguished the flames near the village, finding the body of an 81-year-old man, causing thousands to flee.
Officials said the man died of smoke inhalation near the town of Ödemiş.
A total of 37 other villagers were safely evacuated by security forces and emergency teams.
Hundreds of firefighters supported by aircraft and helicopters were deployed to combat wildfires near Zaechme, a coastal town of Aegean.
The fire, which began Wednesday, forced evacuation of three nearby neighborhoods, leading to road closures.
TV footage showed flames running through dry vegetation on both sides of the highway.
Over the past week, Turkey has fought hundreds of wildfires fueled by strong winds, extreme heat and low humidity.
Now, most are under control, so the flames are destroying or destroying around 200 homes.
Later on Wednesday, the Turkish Parliament adopted a groundbreaking climate law by 2053, targeting net-zero emissions.
The Act includes measures to establish a carbon market committee to oversee efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“As a Mediterranean country, Turkey is extremely vulnerable to climate change,” said Gizem Koç, an attorney for the UK-based environmental advocacy group Clientearth.
“The most notable vulnerabilities are drought and water stress in some regions, but the frequency of flooding and other extreme weather events has also increased.”
Summer wildfires are common in both Greece and Turkey, with experts warning that climate change is bolstering the environment.