Europe is in the midst of a spell of wild weather leaving some areas ravaged by flood waters, whilst other areas have been devastated by fire.

Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Croatia and Romania are among a number of European countries that have been hit by devastating floods which have killed at least 42 people. Rescue attempts have involved helicopters air-lifting stranded people from roof tops in many countries there has been severe disruption to transport with in some cases roads literally being washed away.

Elsewhere in central and Northern Portugal, firefighters have been battling raging forest fires. At least 15 people have already been killed and 100 homes and 180,000 hectares of land have been destroyed. These fires follow a summer drought and other areas of Southern Europe, including areas of France and Spain have been affected.

Article Entry: 25th August 2005

Follow up Links:

Floods in Europe (BBC News Articles):

• Europe Struggles amid flood crisis
• Floods cause havoc across Europe
• Flood Crisis Hits Bulgaria hard
• In Pictures - Romania Floods

Fires in Portugal (BBC News Articles):

• Portugal battles on against Fires
• Fire stricken Portugal sees hope
• In Pictures - Portugal's fires rage

Is extreme weather such as this down to climate change? Find out what the experts think http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4176988.stm

Syllabus Links:

Key Stage 3 - Year 7 - Weather and Climate

Key Stage 4 - Year 10 - Unit 1 - Rivers (Flooding)

Year 13 - Syntopic Unit 6 - Weather Hazards - impact on people