“We are facing an extremely critical situation in our country. As, unfortunately, is the case in many other countries”, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement.

“After 10 days of heat we are called to manage dozens of forest fires simultaneously. Three of them, in Attica, Evia and Ilia are of huge dimensions and intensity” he continued.

He stressed that our priority is always the protection of human life. “This is followed by the protection of property, the natural environment and critical infrastructure. Unfortunately, in these circumstances, achieving all these goals at the same time is simply impossible”, he said.

The statement of the Prime Minister:

We are facing an extremely critical situation in our country. As, unfortunately, is the case in many other countries.

After 10 days of heat we are called to manage dozens of forest fires simultaneously. Three of them, in Attica, Evia and Ilia are of huge dimensions and intensity.

Our priority is always the protection of human life. This is followed by the protection of property, the natural environment and critical infrastructure. Unfortunately, in these circumstances, achieving all these goals at the same time is simply impossible.

The state apparatus and especially the women and men of the Fire Brigade, have made superhuman efforts. We have to show them our gratitude actively, acknowledging that sometimes we ask them to do things that are beyond their power.

Unfortunately, the difficulties are still ahead of us and the coming night is threatening. Tomorrow we expect strong westerly winds in many areas of our country. We are talking about conditions unprecedented as many days of intense heat have preceded, which has turned the whole country into a powder keg.

With the Civil Protection we have drawn up an emergency plan, placing 6 regions, including Attica, in a state of red alert.

I urge you to limit unnecessary travel and be extremely careful. If an evacuation order is issued from an area, please comply. Houses can be rebuilt and trees will sprout again but human life can not be replaced. And in this state of emergency, we must all be united. State, self-government, volunteers, citizens, all together we must give battle.

There will be time for both criticism and self-criticism. But not now.

To our fellow citizens who are justifiably angry, enraged because they lost their property I want to tell them that the state will be by their side. As it was next to the citizens who were hit by “Ianos” and other recent natural disasters. The properties will be restored and our farmers will be compensated. And of course the burned areas will be declared immediately reforestable, as, after all, the Constitution requires.

Finally, we owe it to ourselves to shield our country from the reality of Climate Change. I am not looking for an alibi or excuses. We have made important steps forward in the organization of the state, but these are not enough when you have in front of you a natural phenomenon of such magnitude.

In the last days we gave battles that we won and others that we lost. The state will try every day to get better. It is necessary for the citizens to remain calm and united.

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