peschici Video Clip | Footage.net

Europe Heatwave 3 - Southern Europe wracked by heatwave, fires

NAME: EUR HEATWAVE3 20070725I TAPE: EF07/0888 IN_TIME: 11:18:10:08 DURATION: 00:03:37:00 SOURCES: VARIOUS DATELINE: Various, 25 July 2007 RESTRICTIONS: See Script SHOTLIST ALPHA TV - No access Greece Aegion, Greece 1. Various of fire reaching houses near road 2. Men shouting and pointing to flames and house 3. Fire fighter truck arriving but not stopping 4. Fire raging on the slopes near town AP TELEVISION Gargano peninsula, Puglia province, Italy 5. Wide of smoke from Umbra Forest, Gargano Park 6. Smoke rising 7. Forest Rangers trying to put out fire 8. Smoke billowing from fire 9. Cars stopping on road because of smoke 10. Helicopter trying to put out fire 11. Various of bay near Peschici, tourist location AP TELEVISION Rome, Italy 12. Set-up shot of head of the Civil Protection Department Guido Bertolaso 13. SOUNDBITE: (Italian) Guido Bertolaso, head of the Civil Protection Department: "We have recuperated more than 100 foreigners - they were also in their underwear - we contacted the Foreign Ministry, the embassies, the consulates. Between today and tomorrow they will be given clothing, they will arrive at the Fiumicino airport (Rome), they will find their Consular officers with their passports, and with a ticket to return home, at the expense of the Italian Civil Protection." 14. Wide of press conference room RSRTS - No access Serbia Zavoj Lake, Serbia 15. Various of smoke billowing from different areas of forest 16. Russian aircraft dropping water over forest ROTVR - No access Romania Harghita county, Romania 17. Smoke above Harghita mountains 18. Various of burning trees 19. Locals trying to control fire 20. Firefighters working to control fire 21. Close-up of flames 22. Various of thick smoke in forest Timish county, Romania 23. Heavy rain and trees bending due to strong winds 24. Tilt down from sky to street in heavy rain 25. Wide of traffic crossing bridge in torrential rain and strong winds AP TELEVISION Istanbul, Turkey 26. Various of people swimming in the Bosphorus 27. People who don't know how to swim holding onto the shore, to cool down 28. Girls drinking water in the street 29. Mid of people walking along eating ice cream 30. Man drinking water 31. Girl drinking water while walking STORYLINE: Fires and high temperatures continued to ravage the southern countries of Europe from Italy to Turkey on Wednesday. In Greece, major fires were still ablaze on Wednesday, torching hundreds of acres (hectares) of forest land and in some cases threatening built-up areas and tourist locations. Arson is suspected in many cases and several people have been arrested. Greek forests were subject to 24-hour fire patrols. More than 1,000 additional firefighters were being hired quickly in an effort to cope with the seemingly relentless assault of wildfires. Fires were reported in Corinth, the southern Peloponnese, Kozani, Kastoria and Loannina in northern Greece, and on the western island of Cephallonia. Firefighters were battling to contain scattered fires across central and southern Italy, which authorities believe are largely caused by arsonists. Scattered fires continued to rage in the Gargano peninsula, a spur of land above the heel of the Italian boot where the situation has been more critical. Two elderly people died there on Tuesday, the Civil Protection Department said on Wednesday, after early reports had put the number of victims at four. The fires also destroyed hundreds of hectares (acres) of forest and caused hundreds of residents and tourists to flee to the beach, where they were rescued by boats. About 3-thousand people, tourists and residents, had to be evacuated from their hotels or homes, reports said. Many spent the night in schools and hotels in nearby towns. The Civil Protection Department was closely monitoring the progress of the fires from its headquarters in Rome. "We have recuperated more than 100 foreigners - they were also in their underwear - we contacted the Foreign Ministry, the embassies, the consulates," head of the department, Guido Bertolaso, told reporters during a news briefing on the rescue effort. Bertolaso said the situation is now under control in the southern cities of Reggio Calabria and Messina, but added there were 53 calls to put out major fires before noon local time (1000 GMT) on Wednesday. Italy has been hit by a heat wave with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in some cities, while many others registered temperatures in the high 30s Celsius (about 100 Fahrenheit). Arsonists, blamed for most of the fires, are purportedly acting mainly to clear land for pasture or to build illegally, officials say. At least 2-thousand fires were registered in Serbia, especially in the south and the east regions of the country, in the last five days. On Wednesday, the Serbian authorities struggled to control the flames in Stara Planina and at Zavoj Lake, were 200 acres of forest have already burned. Officials said 28 firefighting vehicles and 107 firefighters from Belgrade and several towns from the Banat region were helping to put out the fires, a task made harder by strong winds. A Russian aircraft dropping water attempted to extinguish some of the flames at Zavoj Lake. Temperatures in Serbia dropped to around 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) during the last 24 hours. On Tuesday temperatures reached record levels of almost 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). Neighbouring Romania is also experiencing large fires in the Harghita mountains, in central Romania. Locals and firefighters have tried to control the flames several times without absolute success and local authorities are calling for helicopters and more personnel. Romania has also been hit by a heatwave during the last week and there have been at least 27 heat-related deaths in the country, according to the Health Minister. But western regions of the country were experiencing torrential rains and strong winds. Meanwhile in Istanbul, Turkey, officials confirmed the temperature in the city hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) some 11 degrees Celsius (51.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above the seasonal average, because of a heatwave coming from North Africa. Cooler weather is not expected to filter into Turkey until Thursday. Officials in major cities including Izmir on the Aegean coast, have declared a special two-day leave for pregnant women and the elderly. On Wednesday people swam in the Bosphorus to cool down. Istanbul officials have also warned people to take water saving measures at home. Meanwhile, several small-scale forest fires erupted across western Turkey on Wednesday, destroying hundreds of hectares of pine trees. Brush fires are common in Turkey during hot and arid summer months.

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