At least six people were killed in Slovenia currently witnessing the worst floods on record which have swept away homes and clogged villages with debris, while the clean-up operations continued on Monday (August 7), said the local officials and media.
Record-breaking rains and floods
Heavy rains in central and northern Slovenia have led to flash floods and landslides which began on Thursday and have since submerged large parts of the region, cutting off access to villages and disrupting traffic.
So far, two Dutch men believed struck by lightning and four Slovenians have been killed or drowned in the chaos, since Friday, reported state news agency STA citing police.
Emergency workers recovered the body of a 35-year-old man in a river near the village of Mirna Perc, on Sunday. According to the police, another man, who was a part of the clean-up operations, was found dead after falling into a cesspit near the town of Kamnik.
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob has described the torrential rains and severe flooding, that the country of two million is witnessing, as its worst natural disaster since independence three decades ago.
In an update, on Monday, reports said that the rescue workers were in the midst of trying to reopen roads to the isolated places and were also assessing the damage. The Slovenian Environment Agency said floods were starting to recede on Monday, but some areas were still cut off.
Meanwhile, civil protection authorities were keeping an eye on flood-hit areas where landslides pose a threat to infrastructure and houses. This comes as residents from villages along the river Mura had to be evacuated on Sunday night after a part of the levee collapsed.
The body of a man was also recovered in the neighbouring country Austria from a river in Carinthia state, parts of which have also been affected due to heavy rains and floods.
According to reports, the damage to buildings and bridges caused by the floods is worth around $549 million. “The material damage is not so important. The important thing is we saved our lives on time,” said Drago Hudofisk, in the village of Prevalje, as quoted by Reuters.
As per the media report, Hudofisk is part of an eight-member family home that was swept away by a river over the weekend. “You know, nature fights back against everything (we do). Water has the power, it destroys everything,” he added.
EU countries help disaster-hit Slovenia
Slovenia, a European Union member, has asked for help from the 27-nation bloc and sought heavy machinery, such as excavators and engineering units. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will visit Slovenia on Wednesday, “to witness on the ground the destruction caused by the floods and discuss EU support.”
Slovenia also requested helicopters, soldiers and prefabricated bridges from NATO. Meanwhile, the first truck carrying humanitarian help and food arrived from Hungary late Sunday, followed by a helicopter.
Croatia also provided a military helicopter to help close and secure a broken levee on the Mura River. Germany said it is sending emergency workers and expressed “dismay” over the “terrible flood catastrophe in Slovenia and Austria.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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