ギリシャ、ヒオス島の山火事に非常事態宣言

【アテネＡＦＰ＝時事】ギリシャは２３日、週末から大規模な山火事が続いている地中海のヒオス島に非常事態を宣言した。（写真は非常事態が宣言されたギリシャ・ヒオス島の山火事を消火する消防士）
　エーゲ海北部に位置するヒオス島はギリシャで５番目に大きい島で現在、５つの山火事が発生している。消防当局は消防士約１９０人、車両３８台、ヘリコプター１２機、空中消火機４機を動員し、消火にあたっている。
　同島を訪れたイオアニス・ケファロギアニス市民保護相は、ビューフォート風力階級で６とされる強風が状況を「非常に困難なものにしている」と述べた。
　２２日には亡命希望者の収容施設から数百人が移動を余儀なくされ、２３日には７村の住民が避難した。
　ヒオス島当局は、芳香性の樹液が医薬品や嗜好品に使用され、ユネスコ無形文化遺産に指定されているマスティックの畑に、火事が接近していることを懸念している。
　ギリシャでは今後数日間、熱波が予想されており、首都アテネを含む地域で気温４０度以上になる見込みだ。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/06/24-17:47）

Greece put the Mediterranean island of Chios under a state of emergency on Monday because of major fires that have raged since the weekend.
Civil Protection Minister Ioannis Kefalogiannis said the decision was made so the authorities could immediately take the necessary measures.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis called on island residents to exercise the greatest caution and follow official instructions.
Chios, in the northern Aegean Sea, is Greece's fifth-largest island and is currently facing five separate fire outbreaks.
Some 190 firefighters, 38 vehicles, 12 helicopters and four water-bombers have been deployed, the fire service said.
Kefalogiannis, who travelled to the island, said strong winds, estimated at force six on the Beaufort Scale were making the situation very difficult.
Reinforcements were being deployed, he told Greek news site iEidiseis.
If the wind dies down a bit we might be able to get this fire under control, he said.
But the wind really hasn't dropped.
On Sunday, hundreds of asylum seekers were forced to move from a reception centre while seven villages were evacuated on Monday.
Island authorities feared the fire was dangerously close to fields of valuable mastic trees, whose aromatic sap is used in making chewing gum, alcoholic drinks and pharmaceuticals.
Mastic is the island's most famous product, designated part of its intangible cultural heritage by world heritage body UNESCO.
Greece is particularly vulnerable to fires in summer, fuelled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change.
Forecasts are predicting a heatwave in the coming days with temperatures of more than 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) expected, including in the capital Athens.