The deadliest forest fires worldwide since 1949:
(Fires that have claimed more than 50 lives):
-
1949
- 🇫🇷 France 82 dead (rescuers have been caught in a fireball in the Landes region (South-West).
-
1987
- 🇨🇳 China 119 dead (51,000 left homeless in the north-west following the worst fire in the country’s recent history).
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2007
- 🇬🇷 Greece 77 dead (250,000 hectares have gone up in smoke in the Peloponnese and on the island of Euboea).
-
2009
- 🇳🇿 Australia 173 people have died (fires have been raging across the south-east for several weeks).
-
2010
- 🇷🇺 Russia around 60 deaths (one million hectares have been burnt in the western part of the country, where drought is rife).
-
2017
- 🇵🇹 Portugal 64 dead (the fire is spreading from the centre).
-
2018
- 🇬🇷 Greece 88 dead – ‘provisional death toll’ revised downwards on 3 August (areas near Athens ravaged by fire).
Source: AFP
Photo: Andreas Solaro – AFP
