Emergency declared in Madrid as wildfires sweep Europe
Severe wildfires across southern Europe, particularly in France and Spain, have forced the mass evacuation of tens of thousands of people. The EU has deployed firefighting aircraft to assist local authorities as record-breaking temperatures exacerbate the crisis.
Why it matters
Highlights the increasing frequency and severity of climate-driven natural disasters in Europe and the strain they place on regional emergency resources.
French authorities ordered the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula, a tourism hotspot on the Atlantic Coast, sending boats to remove people from an area threatened by a major wildfire.
The order for a total evacuation of the area, which is home to many valuable properties and is currently full of tourists enjoying their summer holidays in campsites and rental homes, underlined the severity of the fire.
About 63,000 people were evacuated from the area, many brought to safety by boat, officials said.
The EU has deployed four firefighting aircraft to Spain and three to France to help tackle the multiple wildfires, a spokeswoman said.
"We obviously hope that all hell will not break loose but we are preparing for a severe situation," EU spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said.
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