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France it is an ember. A heatwave, which reached 42 degrees on Monday, caused gigantic fires in Gironde, a wooded region in the west of the country and filled with tourists, as it devoured 14,800 hectares and displaced 27,700, mostly tourists, with their holidays ruined. Wind and drought add to the tragedy.
Great Britain, for For the first time in its history, it declared a “red alert” in the face of the heat wave, which will exceed 40 degrees. Their homes are not prepared for these temperatures. There is already a teenager drowned in a Berkshire lake this afternoon.
forest fires
Fires in the Gironde region of France A week has passed and they are not checked. The wind accelerates them. Three new planes were added to accompany the six fire bombers, 200 additional firefighters and 11 heavy trucks to cope with the situation.
The fires in the Gironde region of France have been going on for a week and are not under control. Photo: AFP
During this period, further evacuations of the population are underway in Landiras, Budos and Balizac. The smoke has already reached the famous beaches of Arcachon and engulfs the city. Now Villandraut, Noaillan and Léogeats join.
The the military is cooperating with the fire brigade in the construction of one for the fire, 5 kilometers long and 40 meters wide, in Landiras.
They evacuate the zoo
Arcachon Zoo evacuated all the animals from the park this afternoon due to the proximity of the fire. Firefighters installed their equipment in the zoo’s parking lot.
In Vincennes, the animal zoo near Paris, animals are given frozen fruit loli so that they do not suffer from high temperatures.
In various regions of France it is recommended not to go out due to the high temperatures. A deserted public square in Arcachon. Photo: EFE
In Cambo Les Bains, Cazaux and Nantes the thermometer passed at two in the afternoon 41 degrees Monday afternoon.
Pierre Hurmic, Bordeaux’s environmental mayor, said the fires “are more than a concern for the forests. It is a catastrophe, a human drama. We will provide all the material help we can, “he said.
Entire villages evacuated
Landiras will be completely deserted at 17:00 French time. The flames are too close to the houses. In that town alone, the firefighters carried out 400 interventions. The images are impressive. Firefighters fought the fire all night.
In Gironde, firefighters saved 3,000 homes but between 7 and 10 houses suffered serious destructionaccording to them.
A plane fighting the fire in Landiras, in the Gironde region. Photo: AP
The population that has to evacuate receives text messages to warn them that they have to evacuate.
“The situation is complicated and critical. Time is not with us. The wind is turned and the fire advances. The night was very difficult, ”said Vincent Ferrierm, sub-prefect of Langon Gironde this morning.
Paris on alert
Paris declared “the 3 canine days alert” for the next 48 hours. They recommend staying at home, outdoors, very well hydrated and telecommuting. The train tracks expand from the heat and commuter trains remain paralyzed in the middle of the tracks without a solution for hours. Nobody can get to work on time.
“I left at 6 in the morning to go to work. It’s 11 am and I haven’t arrived yet, ”says Sadam, from a bus to Irry, until he was able to find a job as a mechanic for an Airbus subsidiary. “I’ve already taken three trains and they all stop. We left evacuated and the buses were overflowing with people, which also cannot get anywhere. It’s a suffocating chaos, “he describes.
Because of the fires in Landiras, they had to evacuate entire villages. Photo: AP
This Monday France will suffer all the heat records in its history. The temperature will exceed 30 degrees throughout the country, but will be at least 41 degrees in almost the entire territory.
There have never been such temperatures There have never been such temperatures in the country. At least fifteen departments are in “red vigilance” and 69 are in “orange vigilance”, for a day that will be remembered as the hottest in many centuries.
Only in Brest, the strong and oceanic Breton port, 40 degrees are expected this Monday. The heat will extend to the entire Atlantic coast north of Brittany, an area particularly exposed to this extraordinary new phenomenon in the country.
It is very difficult to sleep with these temperatures, in a country where there are not many air conditioners because their aesthetics affect the facades of the historical monuments of the cities. The fans are gone.
Families with children go to hotels in Paris and Ile de France, which have air conditioning, to protect themselves. Everything is overflowing. there is no more room.
“We are facing a new mechanism and the approach of cold air at high altitudes, which is called the cold drop, which had stopped in front of Portugal, moved north-east to pass through the Atlantic coast, then the Canal de la Mancha and, finally, the British Isles ”explained the engineer Olivier Proust, of Méteo France.
Crowded beaches on Bournemouth beach in the UK. Photo: REUTERS
“In some areas of the southwest there will be a heat apocalypse, where we can expect 44 degrees this Monday, plus a hot night,” warned the Météo France Institute.
Risks to health
The the risks of dehydration right now are enormous. The authorities recommend not to go out or take public transport, if not essential, in the face of high temperatures. Also wear light, airy clothing.
Santé Publique warns that “far from being bland, dehydration can lead to death”. Heavy sweating, lack of water and minerals in the body are very dangerous and need to be monitored. A feeling of thirst, dry lips and abnormal fatigue are the signs that should be taken into consideration.
Babies and children are the most affected by dehydration. They may have problems with loss of consciousness, refusal or inability to drink, abnormal skin color, and fever above 39 degrees.
Great Britain on red alert
The UK never had a red alert for a heat that could reach 41 degrees. They started it this midnight and for two days. And they broke all historical records.
Transportation services will be changed in the next 48 hours. Railway authorities recommend not traveling unless absolutely necessary.
A swimming pool in Sheffield, in the north of England, packed with the number of people seeking shelter from the heat. Photo: AFP
Many British schools have closed. Their buildings cannot withstand these heat. Others have loosened their uniform requirements.
The British health authority has made it clear that this level of heat it can cause is 3 and 4 and can cause “sickness and death, even in physically active and healthy people”. Older people are particularly vulnerable in the face of this historic heatwave.
The British were asked to stay indoors between 11am and 4pm due to the high temperatures.
The thermometer rose to 35 degrees at noon. Meteorologists say that tomorrow it can reach 43 degrees and that “thousands of people will die” according to forecasters. Many older people take diuretics, which are extremely dangerous at these temperatures.
Many NHS hospitals are not prepared for this heat in their facilities. They are old buildings with no air conditioning or fans. Many people have invaded Bournemouth’s beaches. But others stormed the city’s fountains.
The red alert was extended into the kingdom for England, Wales and Scotland, which this Monday they have already broken their historical temperature records.
Paris, correspondent
Maria Laura Avignolo
Source: Clarin
