Greece battles wildfires, Hungary shuts nuclear power plant due to drought

AGIOS KONSTANTINOS, Greece, Aug 2 - Greek firefighters battled on Sunday to control a huge wildfire that has destroyed over 100 homes northwest of Athens, while a fresh blaze forced evacuations on the popular tourist island of Kefalonia.

Europe has been ravaged by wildfires this summer after a period of record-breaking heatwaves and little rain - conditions that scientists say have been exacerbated by climate change.

Destructive blazes in France and Spain showed signs of easing over the weekend, but several wildfires have broken out in Greece after a period of relative calm there.

Gale-force winds that fuelled the fire around Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth 60 km (40 miles) northwest of Athens have subsided, but flames crossed a mountain to the south and reached the settlement of Veniza and a military firing range, activating unexploded ordnance.

Nearly 500 Greek firefighters equipped with vehicles, heavy machinery and firefighting aircraft have been deployed, reinforced by France and Romania.

In the village of Agios Konstantinos, residents were doing their best to halt the spread of the blaze.

"The fire has been burning since last night, it is certain that they cannot have forces everywhere. We as residents are doing everything we can,” said Tasos Tzempelikos, 61, who along with his son was pouring water on the fire.

Greek daily Protothema reported that a major effort was under way to prevent the fire from Veniza from reaching the nearby coastal town of Megara. It said more than 10,000 hectares of land had likely been destroyed by the fire so far.

Overnight, several settlements on the Ionian island of Kefalonia were evacuated after a fire broke out in the Pastra area in the south.

In France, wildfires in the Gironde and Var departments showed signs of easing. Authorities reported only minor flare-ups in the southwestern Gironde area and said the blaze in the southeastern Var department had not spread overnight.

In central Spain, wildfires that ripped through tens of thousands of hectares over the past week were mostly under control, though firefighters were dealing with re-ignitions in some areas.

In the western province of Caceres, a forest blaze erupted on Saturday, prompting the evacuation of around 800 people. Those residents were allowed to return on Sunday but remain confined to their homes as the fire remain active.

Other European countries are struggling with drought and receding water levels in major rivers, including the Rhine and the Danube, which recorded its lowest-ever water levels in Hungary, Serbia and Romania.

Hungary faces a critical five days, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Sunday, as the drying out of the Danube forced the country's sole nuclear power plant to shut for the first time in over four decades, with a new heatwave looming.

Falls in water levels amid a lack of rain have also disrupted shipping and tourism in Hungary and triggered water-use restrictions in more than 100 cities and villages.

Danube levels in Serbia fell to their lowest since 1985, cutting the daily output of the country's biggest hydropower plant to only 20%, the country's energy minister said on Sunday. REUTERS