A wildfire that began in Algeria on Monday 17th July has now spread to the neighbouring country of Tunisia due to strong winds.
A devastating heatwave has caused havoc across the Planet this July with temperatures breaking records in several places including North Africa and Southern Europe. The consequences have been deadly.
Temperatures of 49 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) were recorded in some Tunisian cities this week. In Tarbarka, a town close to the Tunisia-Algeria border in the North-Western province of Jendouba, civil protection units as well as the air force and forestry workers have been working to extinguish fires to limit the damage and control further spreading.
The Tunisian civil protection has given priority to protecting residential communities in the area and preventing the fires from reaching critical infrastructure, for example the closeby airport. The Melloula village in Tarbarka was evacuated on 25 July after wildfires broke out destroying 470 hectares of forest.
It has been reported that fires have also broken out in other regions of the country - Most notably the Bizerte, Beja and Siliana regions. Unlike Algeria, currently no fatalities have been communicated.
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