Residents of four villages in Crete have been urged to evacuate as firefighters battle freak flames in the mountainous region of Ierapetra, northeast of the popular Greek island.
The blaze, battered by gale-force winds, sparked from a forest in Schinokapsala in the Lasithi region, racing towards the southern coast’s populated areas. At least one 74-year-old man has been injured in the blaze.
Authorities have issued an emergency 112 alert, recommending the immediate evacuation of Mavros Kolymbos, Achlia, Agia Fotia, and Galini. Firefighting teams from Ierapetra and Agios Nikolaos, bolstered by aerial support, are currently battling the flames.
The situation is compounded by two additional wildfires on the island: one in the Ammoudari area near Myrtos and another in a grassy region of Males, Ierapetra. The series of fires has put the island’s emergency services on high alert as they work tirelessly to protect residents and property.
Like most of the country, Crete has been struck by unseasonably high temperatures and experts blame climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires.
But this fire season, Greece was supposed to be better prepared with drills and a response system set in place from March.
Greece saw the worst fire in European Union records last year with nearly 700 square miles of forest land burnt in freak blazes last summer. That is the size of London, the British capital.