In Japan, forest fires forced the evacuation of over 3,000 people, with a thousand firefighters deployed to extinguish them
Kyiv • UNN
In northern Japan, forest fires led to the evacuation of 3,233 people from 1,541 households in Otsuchi. Over 1,000 firefighters were deployed to combat the blaze across 730 hectares.
In northern Japan, the fight against large-scale forest fires continues, which have already forced the evacuation of over 3000 residents. More than 1000 firefighters are involved in extinguishing them. Reuters reports this, writes UNN.
Details
The fires have been raging for the fourth day in a row and have covered about 730 hectares. The fire has approached residential areas in the city of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture.
According to official data, 1541 households have been evacuated – that's 3233 people, which is approximately one-third of the city's population.
Difficult weather conditions, including wind and dry weather, are complicating the extinguishing efforts.
Scale of the fire
The area of the blaze has become one of the largest in Japan in recent years. One fire broke out in a mountainous area, another – near populated areas.
Even during the 2011 disaster, this area did not burn
The city of Otsuchi had previously suffered significant losses during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.