And we complain about OUR weather
Fire and water . . . droughts, floods leave a trail of death
Rescue workers evacuating residents from their apartments on the shore of the River Aare in Berne yesterday. Torrential rain has lashed Switzerland non-stop for nearly three days, unleashing landslides and floods.
EXPERTS were pointing the finger at global warning yesterday as European emergency services battled to cope with the devastating impact of severe floods and massive droughts at the same time.
Severe flooding in central and eastern Europe caused landslides and a trail of destruction that left more than 20 people dead in its wake. At the same time, fire-fighters using planes and helicopters in Spain and Portugal have been working round the clock to keep raging forest fires under control as the countries endure their worst drought period in decades.
In Romania, already hard hit by floods in recent months, new storms and flooding have left 18 people dead in the last week.
Twelve drowned and six were struck by lightning. The latest victims were a husband and wife in northeast Romania who drowned when a small bridge they were crossing collapsed.
Heavy rains also claimed lives in Switzerland and Austria, where landslides triggered by surging waters killed three people.
Two Swiss firefighters died early yesterday in a landslide caused by this weekend's torrential rains.
In southern Austria, the River Mur had burst its banks and continued to flood. A mudslide killed a 50-year-old woman and injured her 77-year-old mother-in-law, a local official said. They were in a home that was partially torn away by the slide.
In Turkey, floods collapsed tents housing agricultural workers. Two 12-year-olds drowned after being washed away by a flooded creek in the town of Cadirardic, in Yozgat province.
In western Europe, meanwhile, wildfires fanned by high winds burned out of control across Portugal yesterday as the country suffered through its worst drought in years.
Firefighters said flames surrounding Coimbra, north of Lisbon, had reached some parts of the city of more than 100,000 people.
The mayor said the blaze to the south was moving quickly and seven planes were dumping water on the fires. Civil protection workers stood by in case residents had to be evacuated.
The Portuguese government, no longer able to cope with the more than 25 fires burning through forest and farmland, called on the European Union for help over the weekend.
Spanish authorities said that most of the major forest fires that have been devastating the drought-stricken countryside were started deliberately or caused by negligence.
Between January and July, 277 people were arrested on suspicion of deliberately starting significant forest fires, Seprona, the nature protection division of the Spanish Civil Guard, said. That is a fraction of the true number of arsonists. There have been 7,000 major fires this year.
Out of 3,415 investigated by Seprona, the causes of half could not be established; of these, it is thought that most were started deliberately. Of the remaining 1,664, 55pc we caused by negligence and 14pc set deliberately. (© The Times, London and agencies)
