Forest fires mean disaster

Natural disaster picture of a burning forest fire Algiers  – Hussein Bou Saleh A researcher in seismology and astronomy, Ali Noaamar tells Arabstoday that Algeria faces a threat of natural disasters this winter. "Fires that swept large parts of the country's forests this summer especially in eastern Algeria will have disastrous consequences," he said. Regarding the heat wave that Algeria experienced this summer, Noaamar said: "This summer was moderate in terms of weather, except the huge forest fires. This will also contribute to prolonging the heat wave that swept the country recently." He did not rule out the possibility of "repeat floods in a number of areas in Algeria, during the next rainy season," saying he feared "massive soil erosion, due to the recent damage to thousands of hectares of forest land." "Forests have a major role in the absorption of millions of cubic metres of rain water, and its reservation as underground water, but in the absence of vegetation, major disasters will occur, led by water rising in valleys and its flooding, which will inevitably lead to soil erosion.” Based on the above, the same expert called the residents of the banks of the valleys to be “prudent and cautious”. The researcher told Arabstoday that compensating forest wealth that was damaged by the fire was "very difficult". "I regret the possible exposure of some trees that were devoured by the fire to extinction. The extinction of some species of animals living in forests is also possible. They were originally threatened with extinction due to neglect," he said. He added that billions in losses were incurred by peasants "as a result of the damage to a lot of fruitful trees, especially olive trees, and the loss of livestock, which either suffocated or burned to death", "Trees are known to absorb carbon dioxide, and the air pollution now will double the numbers of respiratory diseases, in addition their spread through flood waters," he said.