Islands

Authorities have uncovered a major land fraud attempt involving 45 plots of public land, totaling 550,000 square meters, on the islands of Hydra, Spetses and Agistri. A group of individuals from northern Greece is accused of using forged documents to illegally claim ownership of these lands, which include forested and agricultural areas.

Deputy Minister of Digital Governance Konstantinos Kyranakis, alongside Stelios Sakaretsios, the president of the “Hellenic Land Registry” public legal entity, filed a criminal complaint with the Supreme Court against a scheme allegedly linked to forgery cases on the islands of Spetses, Hydra, and Agistri.

The Case

A citizen group on the Aegean island of Astypalaia has appealed to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to intervene and halt plans for a new village of tourist residences, which would be the size of the island's capital, Chora.

The Scientific Risk Assessment Committee met at noon on Thursday (22/8) due to the severe weather conditions that will prevail in the coming days and is currently being chaired by the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias, inter-ministerial – coordination meeting with the participation of representatives of local authorities and all Civil Protection agencies.

A number of regions in the country have been designated as having a very high risk of fire (Category 4) on Saturday, according to the Fire Risk Prediction Map issued by the General Secretariat of Civil Protection at the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection.

Disturbing results emerge from the updated analysis of the burnt areas from forest fires of the last 8 years (2017-present) in the continental part of the Attica Region.

Between 2017 and 13 August 2024, 13 major wildfires have burned more than 700,000 acres according to reports from the Copernicus Rapid Mapping Service and the European Forest Fire Observatory (EFFIS).

The Aegean Regatta kicks off on August 19, starting from Kalymnos and taking in Nisyros, Tilos and Halki before racing for Rhodes. Celebrating its 24th year, the regatta promises exceptional sailing and aims to showcase the beauty of the Dodecanese islands. The event will feature a variety of cultural and artistic activities for all ages to entertain visitors, sailors and island residents.

A wildfire broke out Sunday in a forested area in Tsamantas, Thesprotia in the northern region of Epirus.

Strong firefighting forces have been deployed to the scene, including ground crews, five aircraft and a helicopter. 

The risk of fire will be very high (category 4) in large parts of the country on Tuesday, according to the relevant forecast map of the General Secretariat of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection (civilprotection.gov.gr).

The regions designated as high-risk are colored orange on the map.

The next few days are all expected to be very dangerous for the outbreak of wildfires that could very easily and quickly get out of control due to the extreme weather conditions.