Turkey's Erdogan Faces Criticism over Handling of Wildfires
2021-08-04
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1Extremely powerful fires have destroyed villages and forests in Turkey over the past week.
2Critics have accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government of being slow to act and lacking readiness for large fires.
3The fires in Turkey's Turquoise Coast began Wednesday and have been made worse with strong winds and hot temperatures.
4They have left eight people dead and forced thousands to leave their homes.
5Some villagers have lost farmland and animals.
6Firefighters on Tuesday were still fighting nine fires in the coastal parts of Antalya and Mugla that are popular tourist areas.
7Other fires were reported in the areas of Adana and Isparta.
8Officials said 137 fires in 30 provinces have been put out since Wednesday.
9A senior Turkish forestry official spoke to The Associated Press about the crisis.
10He said the forest fires were the worst in Turkey in recent years.
11He did not know how much land the fires had destroyed or how long it would take to put them out.
12But he did say that strong winds were restarting fires that had been brought under control.
13As people lost their homes and land, anger turned toward the government, who admitted they do not have enough firefighting airplanes.
14Opposition parties have accused the government of failing to buy enough of the planes, and using the money for building projects that hurt the environment.
15In the village of Bozalan, homes and farms were burned down.
16Some people there were very unhappy with the government response.
17Thirty-year-old Nevzat Yildirim said he had called officials asking for help but "nothing came."
18"We tried to protect our own homes through our own means, by filling up buckets," he said.
19Erdogan's government has also been accused of hurting firefighting efforts by refusing help from Western countries, like Greece.
20Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli denied that accusation, and said Greece only offered small firefighting planes.
21The Israeli Embassy said Tuesday that Israel had also offered to help.
22But Turkish officials refused the offer, saying the "situation is under control."
23The Israeli Embassy said the offer for help is still available.
24Firefighting planes have come from foreign countries including Spain, Croatia, Russia and Iran.
25A total of 16 planes, 51 helicopters and more than 5,000 workers were fighting the fires, officials said.
26Erdogan visited the fire-effected Antalya area over the weekend.
27But he was criticized for insensitivity after throwing bags of tea at people from his bus.
28Officials have started investigations into the cause of the fires.
29Officials said Kurdish militants could have started the flames.
30Experts, however, mostly blame climate change as the cause, along with accidents by people.
31A heat wave has spread in southern Europe and has led to wildfires across the Mediterranean.
32Italian firefighters have fought more than 37,000 fires since June 15, a 76 percent increase over last year.
33The Turkish weather service said temperatures would rise this week between 4 and 8 degrees Celsius above normal around the country's Aegean and Mediterranean coasts.
34I'm Jill Robbins.
1Extremely powerful fires have destroyed villages and forests in Turkey over the past week. Critics have accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government of being slow to act and lacking readiness for large fires. 2The fires in Turkey's Turquoise Coast began Wednesday and have been made worse with strong winds and hot temperatures. They have left eight people dead and forced thousands to leave their homes. Some villagers have lost farmland and animals. 3Firefighters on Tuesday were still fighting nine fires in the coastal parts of Antalya and Mugla that are popular tourist areas. Other fires were reported in the areas of Adana and Isparta. Officials said 137 fires in 30 provinces have been put out since Wednesday. 4A senior Turkish forestry official spoke to The Associated Press about the crisis. He said the forest fires were the worst in Turkey in recent years. He did not know how much land the fires had destroyed or how long it would take to put them out. But he did say that strong winds were restarting fires that had been brought under control. 5As people lost their homes and land, anger turned toward the government, who admitted they do not have enough firefighting airplanes. Opposition parties have accused the government of failing to buy enough of the planes, and using the money for building projects that hurt the environment. 6In the village of Bozalan, homes and farms were burned down. Some people there were very unhappy with the government response. 7Thirty-year-old Nevzat Yildirim said he had called officials asking for help but "nothing came." 8"We tried to protect our own homes through our own means, by filling up buckets," he said. 9Erdogan's government has also been accused of hurting firefighting efforts by refusing help from Western countries, like Greece. Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli denied that accusation, and said Greece only offered small firefighting planes. 10The Israeli Embassy said Tuesday that Israel had also offered to help. But Turkish officials refused the offer, saying the "situation is under control." The Israeli Embassy said the offer for help is still available. 11Firefighting planes have come from foreign countries including Spain, Croatia, Russia and Iran. A total of 16 planes, 51 helicopters and more than 5,000 workers were fighting the fires, officials said. 12Erdogan visited the fire-effected Antalya area over the weekend. But he was criticized for insensitivity after throwing bags of tea at people from his bus. 13Officials have started investigations into the cause of the fires. Officials said Kurdish militants could have started the flames. Experts, however, mostly blame climate change as the cause, along with accidents by people. 14A heat wave has spread in southern Europe and has led to wildfires across the Mediterranean. Italian firefighters have fought more than 37,000 fires since June 15, a 76 percent increase over last year. 15The Turkish weather service said temperatures would rise this week between 4 and 8 degrees Celsius above normal around the country's Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. 16I'm Jill Robbins. 17Mehmet Guzel and Suzan Fraser reported this story for The Associated Press. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 18_______________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20tourist - n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure 21means - n. a way of doing something or of achieving a desired result 22bucket - n. to force (a person who is not a citizen) to leave a country 23insensitive - adj. showing that you do not know or care about the feelings of other people