Europe Underwater, Portugal Fights Forest Fires

24/08/2005| IslamWeb

At least six people have been killed in Switzerland after days of torrential rain in the northern Alps. Hundreds more have been evacuated from their homes as the country struggles with widespread flooding.

Swollen streams and rivers have torn down houses and landslides have cut off roads and railway lines, bringing chaos to much of the country.

Rivers deluged by alpine waters have also caused havoc in neighbouring Austria and Germany, as well as other countries still recovering from severe storms this summer.

In Austria's Tyrol region, emergency services rescued hundreds of people as rising flood waters blocked major roads and cut off several towns and villages.

Germany's Alpine region in southern Bavaria has been declared a disaster zone.

Bavarian Prime Minister, Edmund Stoiber, toured the hardest hit areas and pledged to work with the German Chancellor in getting federal aid as quickly as possible.

Forecasters say they expect water levels to keep rising with no respite in sight.

Portugal continues to fight forest fires

A German helicopter dumps its water load as part of the on-going battle to put out forest fires raging across Portugal. One blaze is Coimbra has reportedly been extinguished but many more continue to burn.

Water bombing aircraft from around Europe are taking part in the operation. The worst affected areas are in the north and the central part of the country near to Coimbra.

France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands have also sent aircraft to douse the flames, after Portugal's government asked the EU for help. Because of the severe drought in most of the country, the fires are the worst for years and continue to claim lives including those of at least ten firefighters.

PHOTO CAPTION

Rescue workers evacuate residents from their apartments on the shore of the river Aare in Berne, Switzerland August 22, 2005. (REUTERS)