Raging fires and a hurricane…simultaneous disasters displacing hundreds of thousands on 4 continents news

Many regions around the world are witnessing simultaneous natural disasters that have affected countries on 4 continents and led to the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people in Spain, southern France, Algeria, Morocco, China and the United States.

In Spain, the authorities declared a state of emergency yesterday, Saturday, due to forest fires that got out of control, and were concentrated in the west of the capital, Madrid, which is facing what was described as the “worst” fire in its history, in addition to other fires that swept through the Valencia region in the east of the country.

A death was recorded on Saturday evening as a result of fires in the town of Manises, within the affected Valencia region, and the authorities were forced to evacuate more than 70,000 people in the center of the country, amid a state of panic.

The authorities are still trying to control 3 fires that broke out in the suburbs of Madrid, two of which have merged, while a third fire coming from the province of Avila threatens to join them.

France…unprecedented fires

As for France, it is estimated that about 300,000 people have been evacuated due to the fires raging in the forests in the southwest of the country, specifically in the Gironde and Landes departments and near the city of Bordeaux, which were described as “unprecedented.”

Media outlets quoted fire brigades in Gironde as saying that the fire had regained its ferocity, re-forming the phenomenon of “fire clouds,” a condition in which “the fire generates its own winds accompanied by air vortices, thus becoming random and impossible to control.”

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned that extinguishing the fire would take a long time, and the authorities opened centers to shelter those displaced from their homes, which quickly became crowded with residents, while reports indicate that the fires have destroyed about 98,000 hectares of land in various parts of the country since the beginning of this year.

Morocco.. Extinguishing fires in the north and center of the country

In Morocco, the authorities were able to extinguish forest fires that broke out in the provinces of Tetouan, in the north of the country, and Taroudant, in its centre, without recording any human casualties.

The fires broke out on Friday, and were difficult to extinguish until Saturday, when the authorities were able to control them using planes and helicopters. The fire destroyed about 12 hectares of the region’s forests, as the Taroudant fire destroyed 8 hectares, while the Tetouan fire destroyed 4 hectares.

Algeria.. 141 fires controlled

Also in Algeria, the authorities announced that they were able to control the bulk of the forest fires that recently swept the country, as 141 fires out of a total of 159 fires that broke out in the country’s forests during the past days were extinguished.

A statement by the Algerian General Directorate of Civil Protection indicated that the fire was mainly concentrated in the eastern and northeastern regions of Algeria. It initially broke out last Tuesday in the forests of the Seraidi region of Annaba state, before the fire rapidly expanded to include more than 10 other states.

One killed in fires in America

In the United States, the American Forest Fire Service announced on Saturday that the death toll among firefighters had risen to 4 people.

The victims died while participating in extinguishing the forest fires that broke out late last June, near the border between the states of Colorado and Utah.

The details of the incident are due to the death of 3 firefighters at the fire site after they resorted to tent-like emergency shelters to try to take shelter from the flames, in addition to the injury of two others, one of whom was later announced to have died from his wounds.

China.. Hurricane and displacement

Meanwhile, Hurricane Noel made landfall in southern China on Sunday, accompanied by heavy rains and strong winds that swept through Guangdong province and the neighboring city of Hong Kong.

According to the authorities, the typhoon forced more than 340,000 people to flee in Guangdong province. Bad weather conditions also led to the cancellation of flights at Hong Kong International Airport, while officials announced that air traffic would begin to resume gradually after six o’clock on Sunday evening.

The Hong Kong Observatory reported that the hurricane began to lose its strength as it penetrated further into land, but strong winds continued to affect large parts of the city.