Portugal has declared a state of calamity as wildfires have raged out of control. The European Copernicus satellite service said that over 37,000 acres had been scorched and a combined 13 kilometers (8 miles) of fire fronts had been detected as of Tuesday night. There have been 100 wildfires in the last week, stretching thousands of firefighters thin. Pierre Gasly’s Portuguese girlfriend Kika Gomes has now issued a public service announcement [PSA].
She shared a post on her story by Jornal Expresso which highlighted ways to help the firefighters. The PSA pointed out how the general public can help volunteer firefighters with quick snackable foods with long shelf lives.
Along with food, the post also requested to help the firefighters with energy drinks, water, and milk. Apart from that, the lives of the people fighting the fires at the front will also become easier with residents avoiding fueling the fire around the house.
These instructions have been given out because the situation is dire. So far seven people have unfortunately lost their lives because of the uncontrollable fire.
Meanwhile, 210,000 people continue to be exposed to the ongoing wildfire. Apart from the death toll, there have been reports of 40 injuries so far as the people on the frontline combat the horrific inferno.
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Military personnel have also been deployed to combat the raging fire. There is also a similar horrific situation ongoing in Brazil.
At the moment, the South American country is being ravaged by one natural disaster after another. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen’s girlfriend Kelly Piquet is doing her bit to spread awareness about it.
Piquet spreads the word about natural disasters hitting Brazil
Piquet took to social media to highlight the plight of her home country. She tried to reach her 1.5 million followers via an Instagram story, where she discussed the drought.
Piquet tried to raise awareness via her story and bring attention to the charities helping combat the problem. She also made efforts to raise money by setting up a shop back when Brazil was affected by floods. However, the situation is much more dire now and more help is needed.
Karmagawa and SaveTheReef, an NPO charity, revealed that this is the worst drought in Brazil’s history since 1902. What’s worse is the drought has caused Brazil to be engulfed in flames.
There have been reports of approximately 160,000 fires in 2024 and they have affected areas which is equal to the size of Italy. About 60% of the country is covered in smoke because of these fires.
Brazil is being ravaged by wildfires burning an area equal to that of Italy.#Brazil #Formula1 #KellyPiquet pic.twitter.com/xlxoSTUkTb
— Formula World (@F1_Grand_Prix) September 13, 2024
The floods at the beginning of the year caused the drought. Now, fires are also breaking out in the Amazon rainforest because of the drought.