MASSIVE FLOODS HIT ITALY AND SWITZERLAND WHILE GREECE FACES WILDFIRES
Europe has been engulfed in a series of crazy weather incidents with massive floods swamping Italy and Switzerland while enormous wildfires break out in Greece.
The continent has been facing a combination of torrential downpours and extreme heatwaves which has caused cars to be washed down roads and landscapes devastated.
Pictures from Saas-Grund, in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, show buildings which have been reduced to rubble due to landslides from the mountains.
Sierre in Switzerland underwent major flooding with a submerged motorway after the Rhone River overflowed following the huge storms.
Meanwhile in the Lanzo Valleys, north-west Italy, it has been raining for more than ten hours and the Stura River has swollen above safe levels, according to the Lastampa news site.
In Lago della Torre in Italy, several landslides occurred and a shepherd was stuck at about 150 meters above sea level before being heroically rescued by firefighters.
Seven families who were at risk in two buildings near the Vassola stream had to be evacuated after it turned into a raging torrent.
Violent storms hit a large area of western Canavese, and in the Orco valley, the Noaschetta river swelled so much that the famous waterfall at the gates of the town 'jumped' the entrance bridge to the town centre and forced the closure of a main road.
A similar incident saw villages swept away in the Cogne valley due to intense rain.
Across Lake Garda, Emilia-Romagna and Parma, heavy rainfall saw cars swept away, and entire streets and residential districts left underwater.
A thunderstorm near the town of Rovigo in Veneto fell victim to a tornado which tore through the area, tearing off roofs and uprooting trees.
Switzerland was badly hit by similar weather on Friday, with downpours of more than 100mm in some areas.
As the flash floods hit, some locals had their cars and houses swept away. It has been reported that at least one person has died.
The resort of Zermatt - renowned for skiing, climbing and hiking - was completely cut off due to the flood water and transport chaos.
Meanwhile in Greece, a 55-year-old volunteer firefighter tragically lost his life after 45 wildfires broke out within hours of each other last week in an extreme heatwave reaching 42C.
A severe fire alert is in place after a spate of wildfires and several villages have been evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Firefighters were battling two wildfires near Athens on Sunday amid strong winds, just hours after managing to contain blazes in a mountainous area also near the capital as well as on an island in the Aegean Sea.
Dozens of firefighters in full gear, backed by 23 water-carrying aircraft, fought with hoses to tame a fire in a sparsely-populated area near the town of Keratea, some 22 miles south of Athens.
A wildfire fanned by gale-force winds raged uncontrolled on the Greek island of Serifos earlier today, prompting authorities to order several hamlets to evacuate.
Nearly a dozen firefighters with four fire engines battled the fire on the Aegean island that broke out on low vegetation but spread quickly amid strong winds.
With hot, windy conditions across much of the country, about 50 wildfires broke out on Saturday and authorities advised people to stay out of forest areas.
A wildfire in a mountainous forest area just outside the Greek capital eased earlier on Saturday but some 160 firefighters were still battling to extinguish the flames, officials said.
Gusts exceeding 100 kph (62 mph) hampered their efforts to contain the fire on Mount Parnitha, some 20 km (12 miles) north of Athens, which had threatened to spread to a nature reserve, while water-carrying plans stopped operating through the night.
'The fire has no active front but we still have a long way to go and will work on it all night,' Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said in a televised statement.
Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country but have become more devastating in recent years as summers have become hotter, drier and windier, which scientists link to the effects of climate change.
After last summer's deadly forest fires and following its warmest winter on record, Greece developed a new doctrine, which includes deploying an extra fire engine to each new blaze, speeding up air support and clearing forests.
More than 40 people died in Algeria, Italy and Greece last year due to the extreme weather.
After last summer's deadly forest fires and following its warmest winter on record, Greece developed a new doctrine, which includes deploying an extra fire truck to each new blaze, speeding up air support and clearing forests.
A big part of Mount Parnitha's nature reserve, full of pines and fir trees, was destroyed by a large fire in 2007.
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