Authorities issue alert as early forest fires rage in Greece

Fires raging across central Greece and the island of Crete have been brought under control as the country battles the fallout from more than a month without rain, the fire brigade said on Sunday.
A man was seriously injured when trying to protect his house near the small port of Ierapetra in Crete against the flames, broadcaster ERT reported.
After five dry weeks, Greece has seen countless early forests fires over the weekend.
On Saturday alone, 72 fires were recorded on agricultural land by the fire brigade, most of them on Crete as well as on the central mainland.
The civil defence agency has issued its second-highest alert level as storms, expected to hit the Aegean region from Sunday evening until Tuesday, could further fan the flames.
"Winds with a force of 7 to 8 are expected, which makes the situation extremely dangerous," warned the agency.
Last year, forest fires which raged for weeks caused extensive damage in Greece.
In the south of the popular holiday island of Rhodes, hotels and holiday resorts had to be evacuated and around 20,000 holidaymakers and locals had to be brought to safety.
Huge swathes of land also burned down in the Dadia National Park in the north-east of the country. Experts assume that the forest fire season, which usually begins around May 1, is likely to come earlier every year due to climate change.