WHAT WROTE THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS FOR THE FIRES IN THE Í.Å. ATTICA.
www.Apodimos.com
The Apodimos.com with aim to inform all English-speaking expatriates and Greek brothers, we will present the following articles wrote the International press for the fires in the NE Attica, which are now suffered an unbelievable tragedy, a national disaster. And the result, unfortunately we saw in Parnes, Achaia, Corinth, Ilia, Euboea and Attica in the Northeast this year. The unspeakable grief of a national disaster. Let us study the following articles.
1st Article
«Major wildfire NE of greater Athens»
Athens, August 23 (MIA) - A multi-front wildfire raged northeast of the greater Athens area on Sunday aided by gusty winds, as smoke filled the air over the Greek capital, while flames neared residential areas in Athens' upscale northern suburbs, local ANA-MPA news agency reported.
Amid the declaration of a state of emergency in northern Attica prefecture, north of greater Athens, and a full mobilisation of Greece's hefty fire-fighting apparatus, the government requested aid from its European allies, with the first fire-fighting aircraft from abroad expected on Sunday afternoon.
The blaze is particularly strong in a triangle with the community of Anthoussa in the south, Grammitiko in the northeast and Aghios Stefanos in the northwest, a large swath of territory that includes forested land, residential communities, crops and olive groves and rugged hill sides. Particular emphasis is being placed on preventing wildfires from bypassing the Dionysos mountain slopes, areas ravaged by wildfires in the previous two decades.
According to reports on Sunday, a total of 130 fire engines, 26 military vehicles, some 500 fire-fighters aided by 340 troops, 20 aircraft, along with 30 water tankers and more than 500 vehicles from adjoining municipalities are involved in efforts to battle the fires.
...........In order to you study entire the article you select http://www.idividi.com.mk/English/World/546349/index.html
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2nd Article
«Greece fires still threaten Athens»
Sapa-AP
Published:Aug 24, 2009
A partial drop in gale-force winds early on Monday offered hard-pressed Greek firefighters a brief respite after wildfires raged unchecked for two days north of Athens, burning houses and swathes of forest while forcing thousands to flee their homes.
But Fire Brigade officials cautioned that the fires still threatened inhabited areas on the capital’s northern fringes, the eastern coastal town of Nea Makri and nearby Marathon - site of one of history’s most famous battlegrounds.
“There are fewer hazardous points,” Fire Brigade spokesman Yiannis Kappakis said. “But the blaze is still developing.”
Several houses were gutted but there were no reports of deaths or injuries. There was huge damage to the countryside, however, with thousands of hectares of the area’s rapidly dwindling forests gone.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said the fire - one of more than 90 that broke out across Greece over the weekend - was hard to tame. “The situation remains very difficult,” he said after a fire brigade briefing. “The enormous (firefighting) effort will continue on all fronts throughout the night.”
In Nea Makri, south of Marathon, local authorities said blaze stretching for four kilometres was tearing down a hillside towards some houses, and a dozen nuns were evacuated from a nearby Christian Orthodox convent.
“The situation is tragic right now, there’s a huge fire coming our way” Nea Makri mayor Iordanis Loizos said. “There is nothing we can do ... but wait for the (water-dropping) planes at dawn.”
Water-dropping aircraft were to resume operations at first light on Monday, assisted by aircraft from France, Italy and Cyprus. More than 2,000 firefighters, soldiers and volunteers are fighting the blaze on the ground.
Officials have not said what started the fire. Hundreds of forest blazes plague Greece every summer and many are set intentionally - often by unscrupulous land developers or animal farmers seeking to expand their grazing land.
In many afflicted areas, despairing residents pleaded for firefighters and equipment that were nowhere to be seen.
On Sunday, thousands of residents of Athens’ northern outskirts evacuated their homes, fleeing in cars or on foot. The fire destroyed several houses as it advanced across an area more than 50 kilometres in circumference.
Six major fires were burning early on Monday across Greece.
The Athens blaze started north of Marathon plain, and spread over Mount Penteli - on the city’s limit to the north - threatening outlying suburbs.
Driven by gale-force winds, the blaze grew fastest near Marathon, from which the long-distance foot race takes its name, born from a legendary run after the 490 B.C Athenian victory over an invading Persian army.
A guard at the nearby Museum of Marathon said the fire at one point came within 50 metres of the building, whose exhibits include weapons and skeletons from the battle. However, its main front was moving south toward Nea Makri.
The fire also threatened the ancient fortress town of Rhamnus, home to two 2,500-year-old temples.
...........In order to you study entire the article you select http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1054703
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3nd Article
«Mega-Wildfire Sweeps Towards Greek Capital»
UK, Monday August 24, 2009
Thousands of people are fleeing for their lives as wildfires gut homes and sweep through forest towards the Greek capital Athens.
Flames rage over homes on the outskirts of Athens
Gale-force winds were due to resume to full force after they died down overnight allowing firefighters a chance to battle the blaze.
Planes from France, Italy and Cyprus have been called in to join the fight after Greece despatched 17 water-dropping aircraft to the scene north of Athens.
More than 2,000 firefighters, soldiers and volunteers are fighting the blaze on the ground.
The wildfires have raged unchecked for two days, burning houses and swathes of forest while forcing thousands to flee their homes.
The smoke and fire were so intense they could be seen in pictures taken by satellite.
A firefighter near Marathon
Strong winds were forecast to resume by midday, whipping flames up to 33 feet through the pine forests. Fire Brigade officials cautioned that the fires threatened inhabited areas on the capital's northern fringes.
These included the eastern coastal town of Nea Makri and nearby Marathon - site of one of history's most famous battlegrounds.
"There are fewer hazardous points," Fire Brigade spokesman Yiannis Kappakis said. "But the blaze is still developing." Several houses have been gutted but there were no reports of deaths or injuries in what the Fire Brigade is calling a "mega-wildfire".
The situation is tragic right now, there's a huge fire coming our way. There is nothing we can do ... but wait for the (water-dropping) planes at dawn.
There was huge damage to the countryside, however, with thousands of hectares of the area's rapidly dwindling forests gone.
In Nea Makri, south of Marathon, local authorities said a blaze stretching for 2.5 miles was tearing down a hillside toward some houses. A dozen nuns were evacuated from a nearby Christian Orthodox convent. "The situation is tragic right now, there's a huge fire coming our way" Nea Makri mayor Iordanis Louizos said. There is nothing we can do ... but wait for the (water-dropping) planes at dawn."
Residents flee their homes
In order to you study entire wildfires gut homes you can selected the below videos:
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Wildfires are continuing to rage out of control in parts of mainland Greece.
This is just one of around a 100 blazes across the country, being fanned by gale force winds.
It's in the Grammatikos region, northeast of Athens.
You select http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/
Greek-Wildfires-Rage-Out-Of-Control/Video/200908415367025?lpos=video_
Article_Related_Content_Region_5&lid=VIDEO_15367025_Greek_Wildfires_Rage_Out_Of_Control
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Authorities in Greece have ordered the evacuation of 10,000 people from suburbs in Athens as wildfires still raging out of control.
The worst affected areas are to the north-east of the capital. Sky's Alistair Bunkall reports.
You select http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/sky-news-video/Video/200908415367357?lpos=video_
Article_Related_Content_Region_3&lid=VIDEO_15367357_sky-news-video
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Thousands of people living in the north of Athens have had to spend the night away from their homes as wildfires
continue to threaten the area. Strong winds are continuing to fan the flames. Eleanor Jeffery reports.
You select http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/vid
eo/Greece-Wildfires-Force-Thousands-From-Their-Homes/Video/200908415367546?lpos=video_Article_
Related_Content_Region_1&lid=VIDEO_15367546_Greece_
Wildfires_Force_Thousands_From_Their_Homes
Officials have not said what started the fire. Hundreds of forest blazes plague Greece every summer and many are set intentionally -
often by unscrupulous land developers or animal farmers seeking to expand their grazing land.
...........In order to you study entire the article you select http://news.sky.com/
skynews/Home/World-News/Greece-Fires-Thousands-Flee-Homes-On-The-Outskirts-Of
-Athens-As-Flames-Spread-Through-Forest/Article/200908415367545?f=rss
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4 th Article
«Greek firefighters get brief respite»
DIONYSOS, Greece (CNN) -- Gentler winds Monday morning gave firefighters in Greece some room to breathe, but the respite was only temporary.
A firefighting helicopter drops water on a forest fire in the Athens suburb of Dionissii on Sunday.
more photos »
Gale-force winds are expected to pick up later Monday, once again re-igniting flames and a race to contain them before they reach the capital, Athens. For a fourth day, a fleet of aircraft took off at daybreak to resume water drops as flames licked the northern outskirts of the capital.
From above, the suburbs emitted an orange glow as at least 90 wildfires burned since Friday, devouring hundreds of homes and 15,000 hectares.
No fatalities had been reported, but four people had suffered minor burns, Information Secretary Panos Livadas said.
As a precaution, 20,000 residents of the Athens suburb Agios Stefanos were evacuated Sunday. An additional 10,000 stayed behind, putting up a desperate defense of their properties.
Watch as thousands evacuate their homes in Athens »
The government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has declared a state of emergency, and rescue workers evacuated two children's hospitals, summer camps, a monastery and senior-citizen homes early Sunday. The fires broke out late Friday in Grammatiko, 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of the capital. Ever-shifting winds drove them through a cluster of villages within hours.
iReporter films battle to stop fires »
Other nations were sending help. Italy has sent two water-drop airplanes. France also sent two, and another two were expected on Monday. Cyprus was sending a helicopter. Greece requested help from the European Union on Saturday, officials said.
iReport.com: See aircraft combat fire in Greece
...........In order to you study entire the article you select http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/
europe/08/24/greece.wildfires/index.html?eref=rss_world
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4th Article
«Athens flames recede after inferno»
Reuters 25/08/2009
ATHENS BLAZE: The three-day inferno burning around Athens has started to receed, but thousands have been forced to flee their homes. A lull in winds has helped fire-fighters beat back wildfires that swept through suburbs of Athens and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
A public prosecutor has ordered an inquiry into whether arson started the blaze in an area where fires had in the past been set by greedy developers.
The Greek government, meanwhile, faces criticism over its handling of the crisis which could hurt its prospects in an expected snap election later this year.
A dozen Greek, Italian and French fire-fighting planes battled flames that destroyed homes and swathes of forest near the Greek capital and weather officials said winds were expected to die down as of Monday evening.
"The picture is better in east Attica, there are no significant active fronts but the risk of flare-ups remains," fire brigade spokesman Giannis Kapakis said.
Authorities said about 150 houses were damaged by the fires, still smouldering in east Attica, where a state of emergency was declared on Saturday. Efforts were now focussed on blazes on the island of Evia and near the west Attica town of Porto Germeno.
The fires had retreated from Athens suburbs late on Sunday, when authorities used loudspeakers to urge thousands to leave their communities. A children's hospital, a home for the elderly and a monastery were evacuated.
While thousands abandoned what are mainly holiday homes around Athens, many frantically used garden hoses and tree branches to try to stop the flames reaching their properties.
The battle against the fire, the biggest since Greece's worst wildfires in living memory killed 65 people in 2007, will be crucial to Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who had been mulling a reshuffle before an early election this autumn.
"The fire has put a stop to a possible reshuffle this week," the pro-government Apogevmatini daily said.
Karamanlis's government is clinging to a one-seat majority and the socialist opposition, ahead in opinion polls, has made clear it will force a snap poll and use a March parliamentary vote, when a new president will be chosen, to achieve that.
OPPOSITION ATTACK
The press and opposition parties attacked the government's handling of the fire. The Communist KKE party urged the government to hire more planes and the far-right LAOS said there were delays and lack of coordination. "Disorganisation, indifference, criminal negligence gave the final blow to Attica," said the liberal daily Eleftherotypia on its front page, echoing many other Greek media.
The government defended its handling of the fire, blaming extremely strong winds for its destructive path. The flames seared about 15,200 hectares of forest, farm fields and olive groves.
...........In order to you study entire the article you select http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/
world-news/2784281/Athens-flames-recede-after-inferno
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4th Article
«Firefighters claim victory in Athens inferno»
AFP August 25, 2009
ATHENS (AFP) - Firefighters claimed victory Tuesday over a devastating wildfire that ravaged the outskirts of Athens over four days, exposing the Greek government to attacks on all sides over the disaster. "The situation has greatly improved, we currently have no active fronts in greater Athens," a fire department spokeswoman said. "Firefighting ground forces remain on location to watch out for possible areas of resurgence."
AFP © Enlarge photo
The bulk of forces remained near the capital to ward against a resurgence due to winds of 38 kilometres (24 miles) per hour while other fires on Mount Kithaironas west of the capital and on the island of Evia were also waning. "We are doing much better and if the weather holds out we hope to be done by nightfall," another spokeswoman said.
None of the fires posed a threat to inhabited areas. But as the flames retreated, the government faced a different sort of heat for failing to prevent another ecological disaster exactly two years after the worst inferno in recent memory, which killed 77 people around the country.
Greek media picked apart officials' claims that strong winds made a speedy containment of the wildfires impossible, noting that similar excuses had been put forward in 2007.
"There is no excuse for the incredible disaster in greater Athens," To Vima daily said, blasting the government for allegedly leaving Greece's firefighting forces 3,000 staff short of their nominal strength.
Ethnos daily poured scorn on an earlier statement by government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros that appeared to blame pine trees for the fire.
Pine trees may be pretty but in a way they are an additional aggravating factor in the spread of fires," Antonaros had said Monday.
The disaster was a fresh blow to the embattled conservative government of Costas Karamanlis that is already struggling under the weight of corruption scandals. Karamanlis had called an early general election a month after the 2007 fires disaster, and he is again widely reported to be calculating when to hold another early election: he has just a single-seat majority in parliament. His administration teeters on the edge barely halfway through its four-year term.
Limiting his televised appearances during the crisis, the PM late on Monday praised the fire pilots' "heroic" efforts and thanked countries that sent assistance.
..........In order to you study entire the article you select http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5858264/firefighters-claim-victory-in-athens-inferno/
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5th Article
«Greek fires under control, gov't under attack»
ReutersAugust 25, 2009
ATHENS - Wildfires that tore through suburbs of Athens and forced thousands of people to flee their homes were contained on Tuesday as the government's handling of the disaster became an election issue.
A forest is ablaze close to Nea Makri village northeast of Athens August 24, 2009.
Photograph by: Yiorgos Karahalis, Reuters
Likely to face voters early next year, the conservative government said very strong winds had made it difficult to fight fires in east Attica where swathes of forest and more than 150 homes were destroyed.
"If what we experienced in Attica is the best this government can do, then it is obvious we must urgently replace it," the liberal daily Ethnos said in its main editorial.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is clinging to a one-seat majority and the socialist opposition, which is ahead in opinion polls, has made clear it will force a snap poll in March when parliament votes for a new president.
"Fatal mistakes and shortcomings," read the front page headline of the conservative Kathimerini daily. It said authorities committed the same errors as in 2007 when the worst Greek blazes in living memory killed 65 people, mainly in the Peloponnese peninsula.
The current fire broke out late on Friday in the village of Grammatiko, about 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Athens, and spread quickly through the mountains of east Attica.
Greek, Italian and French water-drop planes, hundreds of fire-fighters and soldiers battled the flames, which raged for three days, devouring about 75,000 acres of forest, farming land and olive groves. Thousands fled after a state of emergency was declared in the area but many stayed behind to fight the flames with garden hoses and tree branches.
"There are no fire fronts in east Attica but forces remain there in case of flare-ups," a fire brigade spokesman said.
A public prosecutor has ordered an inquiry into whether arsonists started the blazes in an area where fires have in the past been set by land developers.
Political parties and the press said the lack of enforcement of strict zoning laws encouraged arson because illegal villas have been sprouting in the middle of burned forests for decades.
..........In order to you study entire the article you select http://www.canada.com/news/
Greek+fires+under+control+under+attack/1927341/story.html
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6th Article
«Greece's government in flames»
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 25 August
Anger at ineffeciency and lack of preparation as fires rage across the nation are likely to cost Karamanlis his premiership.
I take a break from clearing my parents' home of ashes and debris to write this. They live in Dionysos, one of the hard-hit suburbs in the north-east mountains of Athens devastated by the blaze that has reduced 150,000 hectares of virgin pine forests, homes and agricultural areas to barren land. People here, including local government officials elected with the ruling conservative Nea Demokratia party, are livid with the state's inefficiency and unpreparedness that has cost them so dearly.
Today, into the fourth day of this catastrophe that has befallen Greece, and with fires still burning in the eastern part of the Attica region as well as many other places across the country, the political implications of the dramatic events are beginning to take shape.
It was only two years ago, in August 2007, that the Peloponnese was hit by one of the most disastrous blazes ever recorded in modern Greek history. In the midst of that tragedy, the prime minister, Costas Karamanlis, had decided to call early elections, which his party won by a safe margin in September. Nonetheless, the government had come under severe criticism for the inability of the state mechanism to contain the disaster and its aftermath, and for exploiting it for political purposes.
The most unfortunate repetition of history that we are now experiencing comes as affirmation of reports that, after the near-destruction of the Peloponnese in 2007, the government has done little to nothing to improve the state's fire prevention and extinguishing mechanisms.
The Attica can be seen as the final blow to a government that has been in limbo for a while. Nea Demokratia's decline was documented by the opposition party's (centre-left Pasok) decisive victory in the June European elections.
George Papandreou, Pasok's leader, has vowed to force early elections in March, making use of a constitutional provision regarding the selection of the country's president (a ceremonial position). Karamanlis had been reportedly considering calling for early elections in October. The hope was that support for the government would not have been irreparably eroded by October, whereas by March the repercussions of the economic crisis, as well as a series of scandals featuring members of the ruling party, would lead Nea Demokratia to a defeat that the party would not recover from for years. Some within the government were pressing for a cabinet reshuffle instead, arguing that it could breathe new life into the government's image.
The Attica blazes change the political game. Karamanlis's plans for elections in October are now almost impossible to execute not only because of the mounting unpopularity of the government, but also because he cannot go to the ballot box without paying high reparations to those who lost property in the fires; and these come at an unbearable cost.
Pasok's plans are still hard to predict. For the time being, its representatives monotonously repeat that their party will make no political comments regarding the fires until the very last flame has been put out. It is, however, expected that when this time comes (hopefully today) they will hammer the government for displaying criminal irresponsibility and failure to protect its citizens and demand early elections. Under the current political circumstances, it is likely that Pasok would win and could even form a government without the help of one of the smaller parties.
Karamanlis is, thus, in a bit of a pickle. He and his closest associates are, according to well-informed sources, in the dark regarding their next move. A cabinet reshuffle would not do much good to the government's popularity right now. Early elections in October are likely to mark the end of his premiership. It is therefore more likely that he will do what he does best: sit back and wait. Unfortunately, his leisurely ways have come at too high a cost for Greek citizens, who are yet again left with a feeling of abandonment and insecurity to literally clean up the ashes by themselves. .
..........In order to you study entire the article you select http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/
aug/25/greece-government-fires-karamanlis
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7th Article
«Greece wildfires under control»
Firefighters say wildfires which forced thousands of people to leave their homes in Greece are now under control.
Officials there say 150 homes were damaged, and experts warned it would take a long time to replace the forests burnt down by the flames.
More than a thousand firefighters and soldiers are still on standby to help put out the remaining fires.
Several people were treated for burns and breathing problems, but no-one was killed by the blazes.
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On Monday 19 water-dropping planes and helicopters - including aircraft from Italy, France and Cyprus - used 14,000 tons of water to help extinguish the wildfires.
At one point, 90 fires were burning, with six very big fires threatening to spread to the capital city, Athens.
The biggest fire is thought to have destroyed around 50,000 acres of pine forest, olive grove, brush and farmland. .
..........In order to you study entire the article you select http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/
hi/newsid_8210000/newsid_8219800/8219824.stm
