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Portugal: Heat Wave: 2003/08/06 Country Information on DRR

Period 2003/08/06
Country or District Portugal
Event Type Heat Wave
Outline Europe baked in a heatwave on Wednesday that, along with forest fires fanned from the Balkans to the Atlantic, has killed at least 34 people. More than a week of fires have claimed 14 lives in Portugal and ravaged an area of forest almost two-thirds the size of Greater London. Neighboring Spain recorded its 13th death due to the soaring temperatures. In Germany, which like most of usually cooler northern Europe has not been spared, there were five heat-related deaths in one German town alone over the weekend. The heat in Britain claimed its first victims when two teenage boys drowned trying to cool off.
Summary
Human Impact Physical Impact Others
Yahoo! news (Japanese) 2003/08/21
Portugal
Dead: 1,316 people
(by forest fires: at least 15 people)
CNN News 2003/08/14
Died:3,230 people(August 4-10)
BBC news 2003/08/10
Dead: about 40 people
Summer fires have also destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of pinewood and brush across the continent, most of it in Portugal.
More than one million chickens have also died in France because of the heat.
The UK recorded its highest ever temperature, with a temperature of 38.1 Celsius (100.6 Fahrenheit) in Gravesend, Kent.
OCHA Situation Report No.1 2003/08/08
in Portugal
Death by forest fire: 15 people
Reuters 2003/08/06
Dead: 34 people
(in Portugal 14 people, in Spain 13 people, in Britain 2 people, in Germany 5 people)

Related Links

Report/Articles

Yahoo! news (Japanese) 2003/08/21
In Portugal, the heat wave killed 1,316 people.

CNN news 2003/08/21
German heat wave deaths reach 30

CNN News 2003/08/18
The death toll from France's heat wave could be as high as 5,000.

CNN News 2003/08/14
An estimated 3,000 people have died in France of heat-related causes in the past two weeks, the health ministry said.

CNN News 2003/08/12
At least 100 people have died from heat-related causes in the last eight days in the Paris area as scorching temperatures continue to bake much of Europe, according to a French medical official

BBC news 2003/08/10
Temperatures across the continent have regularly exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) over the past two weeks, leading to some 40 deaths.

BBC news 2003/08/07
The Europe has also been hit by an exceptional heatwave - with temperatures hitting 40C in several countries this week.

OCHA Situation Report No.1 2003/08/08
Fifteen people have lost their lives as a result of the fires.

Reuters 2003/08/06
Europe Scorches in Heatwave That Claims 34 Lives

CNN news 2003/08/06
Portugal fires toll rises to 14

Geographycal Data

ReliefWeb Map 2003/08/08
Affected Districts in Portugal

Pictures

BBC news 2003/08/04
In pictures: Portugal blazes