5 Mediterrenean Nations Fight Forest Fires While Storms In C. Europe Kill 10 - AFP

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Firefighters battled blazes in five countries along the northern Mediterranean rim Sunday, slowly gaining the upper hand after an exhausting week that left eight people dead.

Tens of thousands of hectares of countryside have been devastated mainly in Italy, Spain, France and Greece with initial estimates suggesting that the insurance bill may already run into hundreds of millions of euros

New fires were sparked Sunday in some of the worst hit areas, but also in Croatia, with the latest again blamed on arson following recriminations over criminal fire-starting elsewhere. On the scorched Italian island of Sardinia, as many as 25,000 hectares (60,000 acres) have been razed by a flaming inferno fanned by high temperatures and an extra-strong Mistral, a fast and dry northerly wind.

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While the deadly fires spread in Spain, France, Italy and Greece, violent storms slammed central Europe. Ten people were killed and dozens injured as the storms felled trees and electricity poles, ripped off roofs and caused local flooding. Western and south-western Poland were hardest hit, with hurricane-force winds reaching 130-kilometres-per-hour (80 miles-per-hour) in some areas. "Eight people died in all," Poland's national fire brigade spokesman Pawel Fratczak told AFP. He said 82 people were seriously injured and required medical attention and that most deaths were caused by falling trees. High winds also claimed two lives and injured dozens in the neighbouring Czech Republic.

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http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Mediterranean_rim_battles_to_contain_wildfires_999.html