Thu 18 August 2022:
The forest fires raging in northern Algeria have claimed the lives of at least 38 people and injured several others. a mother and daughter were killed in Setif, according to Kamel Beldjoud, the interior minister of the nation. Most of those killed occurred in El Tarf, close to the Tunisian border. With 16 active fires, El Tarf is reportedly the worst-affected region in the nation.
Nearly 200 additional people have reportedly suffered burns or respiratory problems as a result of the smoke, according to several Algerian media outlets.
In several provinces, some 350 residents have been evacuated. Every year, wildfires in northern Algeria cause many fatalities. 90 people died in the past year.
Total deaths this summer now stands at 30. Firefighters and helicopters are still trying to contain several blazes threatening residents in provinces in the east of the country.
Wildfires have wreaked havoc across the world this summer, with Europe being specially hit. On Wednesday, a wall of flame fed by high winds swept down towards four Spanish firefighters who were battling a wildfire in the eastern Valencia region to prevent flames from reaching a village in the municipality of Bejis.
Local emergency services reported on Twitter that three firefighters were injured and that numerous nearby communities were evacuated. At least 10 passengers on a train who attempted to evacuate in fear after spotting the flames so close to the train were hurt by the same fire on Tuesday.
More than 275,000 hectares of land have been burned by wildfires in Spain so far this year, and 87,000 hectares have been burned in Portugal so far, with the latter representing around one per cent of Portuguese territory, the highest percentage in the European Union.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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