The MAE warning for Romanians who go to Greece or Albania. Vegetation fires in several areas

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) has issued travel warnings in the context of vegetation fires in Greece and Albania, providing information and recommendations for Romanians who are located, transit or intend to travel to the two countries, reports News.ro.

In Greece, local authorities have announced that there is still a high risk of vegetation fires, due to extreme weather conditions – high temperatures, lack of precipitation, low humidity and strong wind.

In this context, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends to Romanians to be informed, before the trip, about the existing situation and to avoid moving in the areas where there are ongoing fires or an imminent risk of their production. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises the Romanians who are in an area where a fire takes place to strictly respect the instructions of the local authorities and to constantly follow the official sources of public information.

At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends consulting the website of the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection and Climate crises, which contains topical information on vegetation fires, daily fire forecast maps, available at https://civilprootection.gov.gr/xartis, as well as a fire protection guide.

If the Romanian citizens in Greece receive telephone alerts from the 112 Service, they are advised to follow the instructions received to avoid the affected areas or for the evacuations organized by the authorities.

Romanian citizens can request consular assistance at the telephone numbers of the Romanian Embassy in Athens: +30 210 6728875, +30 210 6728879 and to the General Consulate of Romania: +30 2310 340088, the calls being redirected to the Center for the Contact and Support of the Romanian Citizens from abroad permanence.

Also, Romanian citizens who face a difficult, special situation, with an emergency character, have the emergency phone of the Romanian Embassy in Athens: +30 697 899 6222 and to the General Consulate of Romania: +30 694 604 9076.

The MAE recommends consulting the web pages www.mae.ro, https://atena.mae.ro and https://salonic.mae.ro.

At the same time, Romanian citizens traveling to Greece can access the digital application “Maigraece”, made by the Greek Ministry of Tourism, also available in Romanian: https://www.gov.gr/en/upourgeia/upourgeio-tourismou/touri/MaiGreece.

Travel alert and Albania's case

Local authorities in Albania have also announced that there is still a high risk of vegetation fires due to extreme weather conditions (high temperatures, lack of precipitation, low humidity and strong wind).

The Albanian authorities said that there are over 30 outbreaks of vegetation fires on the territory of the country, most of them located in the south. Among the affected areas are the localities of Skenderbegas and Sojnik in the Gramsh, Koshtan region of Mealiaj, Hormove, Koder and Lekel from the Tepelene region, the forests near the town of Gjirokastra, but also those in the proximity of Finiq or Vlore.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends Romanian citizens to be informed about the situation, before the journey begins, and to avoid moving in the areas where there are ongoing fires or an imminent risk of their production.

Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends to Romanians who are in an area where a fire is manifested to strictly respect the instructions of the local authorities and to constantly follow the official sources of public information.

Romanian citizens can consult the website of the Ministry of Defense in the Republic of Albania (https://www.mod.gov.al/eng/newsroom), but also the following pages: https://ww.globalforestwatch.org/dashboards/country/alb/12/?category=fires,,, https://rapidmapping.emergency.copernicus.eu/emsr816/download, containing topical information on vegetation fires, daily fire forecast maps or recommendations of Albanian authorities.

If the Romanian citizens in Albania receive telephone alerts from the 112 Service, they are advised to follow the instructions received to avoid the affected areas or for the evacuations organized by the authorities, notes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Romanian citizens can request consular assistance at the telephone numbers of the Romanian Embassy in Tirana: +355 4 230 31 33; +355 4 230 3104, the appeals being redirected to the contact center and support of the Romanian citizens from abroad (CCSCRS) and taken over by the operators in permanent regime.

Also, Romanian citizens who face a difficult, special situation, with an emergency character, have the emergency phone of the Romanian Embassy in Tirana: +355 69 709 7779.