Natural hazards

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 has shaken Southwest China. At least 13 people have died in Sichuan province, the BBC reported.

A 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern China on Monday, according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake hit around 43 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the city of Kangding in Sichuan province at a depth of 10 kilometres, the USGS said.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties.

Tremors were felt in the nearby megacity of Chengdu, a resident told AFP.

Successive earthquakes on Aug. 31 rocked the Aegean Sea, According to Türkiye's disaster management agency AFAD and there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

A 4.7-magnitude tremor hit at 09:56 GMT and was followed by a 5.1-magnitude quake at 10:10 GMT, according to AFAD. 

The earthquake was felt on the coastal cities of İzmir and Aydın. 

This past summer, the 10-day heat wave, with temperatures near 45 degrees Celsius, paved the way for a wave of disastrous wildfires all over the country.

Turkey has decided to buy four firefighting planes "soon," following the 299 wildfires that erupted in 49 out of all 81 provinces between July 28 and Aug. 12, according to the aviation columnist of daily Hürriyet.

"The buying process will be conducted over by the presidency of defense industries," Uğur Cebeci wrote on Oct. 13.

The main opposition leader has criticized the government for not developing an efficient mechanism in coordination to combat the wildfires, stressing the need to establish a strong firefighter fleet as soon as possible.

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Skopje – Slovenian firefighters helping in the effort to put out wildfires in North Macedonia have protected buildings close to the eastern village of Budinarci from flames. With the help of a helicopter, they are also fighting a fire that has spread toward a minefield, the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration has said.

Ravaged by wildfires since July 28, Turkey has contained most of the 223 wildfires that took 47 provinces in its grip with only six wildfires remaining, Turkey's agriculture and forestry minister said on Aug. 7 as precipitation at the weekend helped end the wildfires in the southern province of Antalya.

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Ljubljana – Slovenia has deployed a civil protection unit and 16 vehicles to North Macedonia to help fight wildfires there in response to the country’s asking for help through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

According to a post on the government’s Twitter profile, Slovenia sent 46 members of civil protection specialising in fighting wildfires with 16 vehicles.

Units from the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry's Directorate General of Forestry have added more drones to their fleet to fight forest fires more effectively.