A wildfire burning in northeastern Greece for 11 days has destroyed an area larger than New York City, as firefighters from five countries battled to contain the flames.

Fuelled by gale force winds and hot weather, the fire that began near the city of Alexandroupolis quickly spread across the Evros region, killing at least 20 people last week in Europe’s deadliest blaze this summer.

It turned swathes of lush greenery into scorched earth and destroyed homes and livelihoods.

In a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service said the fire had ravaged at least 808.7 square kilometres (312.2 square miles). New York City takes up 778.2 square kilometres (300.5 square miles).

Copernicus said last week that the fire was the largest on European soil in years, and authorities warned that risks from the fire remained high on Tuesday.

Aircraft and hundreds of firefighters on the ground, including from Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Albania, were battling the flames, the fire brigade said.

“We are trying to defend the rest of the unaffected area before the front line of the fire comes,” said Jiri Nemcik, commander of the Czech team. “The development of the fire is very dynamic so it’s very dangerous.”

Satellite images highlight the extent of the destruction in the area, with swathes of forest virtually flattened and lush pine trees turned into blackened, skeletal bark.

Panagiota Maragou, head of conservation at the Greece division of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said at least 30% of the National Park of Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest had been lost to flames.

Thanks to its high biodiversity, the national park was “one of the most important protected areas in Greece and also in Europe, perhaps also on an international scale”, she said.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a meeting on Tuesday on the fires that have ravaged Greece, touching on preventative measures among other issues, a statement from his office said.

Environmentalists have long accused Greece of spending more funds on extinguishing fires than on prevention.

“We’ve seen in the case of Dadia and in the case of the Evros fire in general …, one of the biggest fires in Europe, that a system that relies exclusively on suppression of fires is not working,” Maragou said.

Summer wildfires are common in Greece but the government says extreme weather conditions which scientists link to climate change have made them worse this year. Greece’s deadliest fire on record killed 104 people outside Athens in 2018.

All but one of the dead in the Evros fire are believed to have been irregular migrants who crossed over from Turkey, evading police in the forest. Authorities fear more bodies may be found when the flames are put out, as Evros is a popular crossing into the EU for thousands of migrants and refugees every year.

Hurricane Idalia was strengthening on Tuesday as it lumbered toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, where officials ordered evacuations and urged millions of residents to brace for a possible major Category 3 storm when it makes landfall on Wednesday.

Idalia was expected to intensify rapidly before slamming ashore on Wednesday morning, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged residents in low-lying areas to heed orders to seek higher ground, warning that the storm surge could cause life-threatening floods.

“If you are told to evacuate, you have to do that now,” he said at a Tuesday morning news briefing. Evacuation orders have been issued in 22 counties, and more than 20 emergency shelters have been opened, he said.

The NHC projected Idalia’s center would likely cross Florida’s coastline somewhere in the Big Bend region, where the state’s northern panhandle curves around into the Gulf side of the Florida Peninsula.

The area, roughly between the inland cities of Tallahassee and Gainesville, is much more lightly populated than the Tampa-St. Petersburg area to the south.

Despite the latest projection, the path of the intensifying storm was uncertain as it spun northward over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, a day after passing just west of Cuba, where tens of thousands evacuated ahead of flooding and high winds.

Idalia intensified into a hurricane early on Tuesday. It was expected to reach Category 3 force – classified as a major hurricane, with sustained winds of at least 111 mph (179 kph) – on the five-step Saffir-Simpson wind scale by the time it reaches Florida on Wednesday, the NHC said.

Colonia Tovar is a charming German-style town that is located in the northern part of the Tovar Municipality, within the northeastern part of the State of Aragua, in the northern part of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Nestled more precisely in the Cordillera de la Costa mountain range, this small and yet very picturesque town known for its well-preserved German architecture, colorful gardens, and delicious cuisine, featuring traditional German dishes such as sausages, sauerkraut, and beer, has been founded on 8 April 1843 by a group of German immigrants from the then independent state of the Grand Duchy of Baden, nowadays Germany, seeking to recreate their homeland in South America.

As the immigrants were led by a man named Agustín Codazzi, who was commissioned by the Venezuelan government to explore and map the region, they were also seeking a new home away from the political turmoil and economic hardship of their native country and hoped to create a utopian society based on their German traditions and longstanding values.

Still, as Venezuela was facing significant political and economic turmoil at that time, many Venezuelans were emigrating to other countries in search of better opportunities and more stable life, but it was Colonel Agostino Codazzi, an Italian geographer and cartographer that was hired by the Venezuelan government to explore and map the country’s interior, and he discovered the amazing valley in the mountains near Caracas that he thought would make an ideal place for a new settlement.

Codazzi believed that the valley, which was surrounded by lush forests and fertile farmland, could be transformed into a thriving agricultural community, and upon sharing his vision with a wealthy Venezuelan landowner named Ramón Díaz, who was intrigued by the idea of creating a new settlement in the region formed a colonizing company and began recruiting settlers to join them in their new venture.

Their main focus was on attracting German immigrants, who were known for their hard work, discipline, and agricultural skills, and the first people from the Grand Duchy of Baden were convinced to create a utopian place in the amazing South American continent.

As the German immigrants have created a unique architectural marvel, one of the things that separates Colonia Tovar apart from other towns in Venezuela is its distinctive architecture, which features colorful half-timbered houses with steeply pitched roofs, reminiscent of the buildings found in small German villages.

Throughout the years, there have been many local stories embracing this charming little place, and one of the most commonly told is the secret tunnel that was used by the Germans during World War II to escape the country, as well as legends of ghost sightings in some of the town’s oldest buildings.

Nowadays, Colonia Tovar remains a popular tourist destination, attracting visitors from all over Venezuela and beyond who come to experience its unique blend of German and Venezuelan culture.

Despite its popularity, Colonia Tovar remains a relatively small and tight-knit community, with many residents descended from the original German immigrants and fiercely proud of their cultural heritage that has been kept for more than a century.

As there are many attractions to be explored in the colonial town, among the many things it is worth mentioning the charming town square with its fountain and flower beds to the local craft shops selling handmade goods and souvenirs, but visitors can also take a stroll through the town’s beautiful gardens, which are filled with colorful blooms and offer stunning views of the surrounding mountains.

In conclusion, Colonia Tovar is a unique and charming destination that offers visitors a taste of Germany in the heart of Venezuela, with its distinctive architecture, delicious cuisine, and rich cultural heritage, and it still serves as a testament to the vision and perseverance of Colonel Agostino Codazzi, Ramón Díaz, and the German immigrants who helped build the community.